Modesto steakhouse Tahoe Joe’s closes, being replaced by this Bay Area seafood chain
Say goodbye to rustic steaks and hello to piles of seafood.
North Modesto’s Tahoe Joe’s has closed for good and is being replaced by a new Bag o’ Crab franchise. The regional Cajun seafood chain has more than half a dozen locations primarily in the Bay Area, but also spots in Merced, Southern California and soon Texas.
Tahoe Joe’s has been a staple just off the Pelandale exit from Highway 99 in front of the Costco since 2004. But the steakhouse chain closed the Modesto location, and others, during the pandemic. At the start of this year a spokeswoman for the company said that the closure was only “temporary” and it would reopen. The Tahoe Joe’s website still lists the Modesto location as “Temp. Closed Until Further Notice.”
But in April of this year Fresh Acquisitions, LLC (an affiliate of VitaNova Brands which owns Tahoe Joe’s) filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The steakhouse brand still has operating restaurants in Bakersfield, Fresno, Roseville, San Luis Obispo, Vacaville and Visalia.
Recently a “Coming Soon” banner went up on the building announcing the arrival of Bag o’ Crab. In December, the seafood chain opened a location in Merced in a former IHOP space.
The eatery bills itself as “Cajun seafood” and offers a wide range of fare (often boiled in bags, hence the name). The menu includes Dungeness crab, snow crab legs, lobster, shrimp, crawfish, clams and mussels and you can add on items like potatoes, sausage and corn to make your own custom bags with a selection of sauces and heat levels.
They also serve fried seafood and po boy sandwiches for folks who don’t want to get their hands as dirty. And if you don’t like seafood (but, again, the restaurant’s name is Bag o’ Crab so you shouldn’t be surprised by its offerings), they also have half a dozen flavors of chicken wings and an assortment of other non-fishy dishes.
Stanislaus County has a couple restaurants that serve similar boiled-in-bag seafood with Cajun flair, including Shrimpy’s on Fulkerth Road in Turlock and Crawfish Noodle & Grill on McHenry Avenue in Modesto.
According to the Bag o’ Crab website, the company has been around since 2010. No word on when the Modesto site will open (calls and emails to franchise management were not returned in time for publication) or if the building will undergo an extensive redesign from its woodsy, mountain-themed look.
Tahoe Joe’s was founded in 1996 in Fresno. The company built its Modesto location, which opened in July 2004, from the ground up in the then relatively new NorthPointe shopping center at Pelandale Avenue and Sisk Road. The approximately 7,000-square foot building can seat about 260 inside.
For more on Bag o’ Crab visit its website at www.bagocrabusa.com.
