The Crab Claw's Last Weekend, and the Oyster Festival Next Door Six Days Later

The paper comes off the Crab Claw's tables for the last time on Sunday, November 1. Owner Tracey Jones-Wass gave that date to WBOC, which reported that the restaurant is serving as usual until then. Her parents, Bill and Sylvia, opened it in 1965, and The Star Democrat reports that this 61st season, which the lease carries through 2026, will be its last.

Six days later, on Saturday, November 7, Navy Point fills up again. This time the host is the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum, the neighbor that has owned the Crab Claw's building since 2023, and the event is OysterFest. The Crab Claw started as a shucking house that bought and sold oysters and crabs. So the first big public day on the point after it closes is a celebration of the same oysters the business started with.

The point is changing hands again, as it has several times before, and the new owner hasn't said what the building turns into next.

The Landlord Has Been Next Door Since 1965

CBMM announced in April 2023 that it intended to buy two properties next to its waterfront campus, and one of them held the Crab Claw. According to The Star Democrat, the purchase covered the restaurant building and the parking lot that runs out to the Miles River, and it was completed later in 2023. In early 2024 the museum signed a lease that let the Crab Claw stay open through the 2026 season.

The two have been neighbors from the start. In the museum's 2023 announcement, CBMM noted that the restaurant opened in 1965, the same year the museum did, and that the two had "stood side by side as staples of St. Michaels for decades." Then-President and CEO Kristen Greenaway said at the time that the museum wanted "to keep the properties in the St. Michaels' family."

The sale didn't include everything. The Star Democrat reports that Jones-Wass kept the name, the recipes and the identity. The museum bought a building and a waterfront lot. The Crab Claw itself still belongs to the family.

This Ground Has Changed Jobs Before

The site was a busy part of town long before anyone served crabs there. Between CBMM Chief Historian Pete Lesher's account in the museum's announcement and The Star Democrat's history of the site, here is how the point has changed:

1. 1877. An atlas from that year shows the first pier at the location.
2. 1890s. The town's steamboat wharf stood here, with a one-story building topped by a cupola, and passengers arrived by water.
3. 1920s to mid-century. The wharf was gone, and petroleum tanks stood on the property until the mid-20th century.
4. 1965. The Jones family opened the Crab Claw, which Lesher described as "an outgrowth of the Eastern Shore Clam Company."
5. 2023. CBMM completed the purchase.
6. November 1, 2026. The restaurant's last day.

The Crab Claw has been on the point for 61 years, which makes it the longest-running use on that list. It is still one chapter of six.

What the Museum Has Actually Said

So far the museum has given no stated use, no design and no timeline. When CBMM announced the purchase in 2023, it said it "will now begin the planning process for future use of the properties." The 2026 coverage in The Star Democrat goes no further. It says the museum is "actively planning for the long-term future of the property" as part of its ongoing campus master plan, and it quotes the museum's statement:

"We thank Crab Claw owner Tracey Jones-Wass and her family for their partnership over many years, and look forward to supporting their final season."

Neither The Star Democrat nor WBOC reports that a restaurant will follow, and no one has been named to run food service there. Anyone who says the building will become a café, an exhibit hall or a dock is guessing. The public record doesn't say.

Longtime general manager Wayne Bridges told WBOC, "I've been here 41 seasons," and said he had always expected to retire at the Crab Claw.

The Calendar Between Now and December

The two news reports give slightly different end dates. The Star Democrat wrote that the final season "runs through October." WBOC has the owner naming November 1, which is the day after October ends. The restaurant's own homepage lists hours of Wednesday through Monday starting at 11 a.m., closed Tuesdays, and doesn't give closing times. Calling ahead before the final weekend is a good idea.

According to The Talbot Spy, the Art League show opens the same day the Crab Claw closes. The Blue Crab keeps daily hours of 7 a.m. to 3 p.m., so a coffee on Fremont Street and a last lunch on the harbor fit into the same Sunday.

Jones-Wass told The Star Democrat she wants the ending to be "a celebration, not a wake." She hopes to organize a boat parade of customers arriving by water, with a band on the dock. As of this writing, those plans are hopes, not a scheduled event. Watch the restaurant's own announcements before taking the boat out.

OysterFest Is the Point's First Big Day Under the Museum

On November 7, the museum's festival uses the same waterfront the restaurant looked out on. According to CBMM's event page, live music plays on two stages, the Tolchester Beach Bandstand and Fogg's Landing, and the demonstrations of Chesapeake traditions take place on Navy Point. The day also includes fresh oysters served a variety of ways, an oyster stew competition, boat rides, craft beer and cocktails, and children's activities.

The 3 p.m. christening is the centerpiece. Winnie Estelle is a 1920 Chesapeake Bay buyboat, and CBMM's event page says she has spent the past three years in the museum's working Shipyard getting an extensive refit that included a new keel to replace her original. Once christened, she starts her next role as a floating classroom and ecotourism vessel, and the museum is also inviting visiting buyboats from around the Bay. The museum's refit log posted a rub-rail update as recently as September 28, 2026.

Admission is cheaper if you buy online in advance:

• Nonmember adults: $22 in advance, $24 at the door
• Seniors and students 17+: $19 in advance, $21 at the door
• Active and retired military: $10 in advance, $12 at the door
• Youth ages 6 to 17: $9 in advance, $11 at the door
• Children five and under: free
• CBMM members: $10 online, $12 at the door; members' children 17 and under are free
• VIP: $50 for members, $80 for nonmembers

Where the Crab Goes After November 1

The Crab Claw's closing comes at the point in the calendar when local steamed crabs are ending anyway. Chesapeake Landing, at 23713 St. Michaels Road, lists local steamed blue crabs as seasonal from May through October. Its crab cakes, crab soup and other crab dishes stay on the menu all year. The restaurant says it is open year-round, from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday, Monday and Tuesday and 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday. Its Friday oyster buffet runs October through March, so oysters carry through the winter the way crabs carry through the summer.

On the harbor, Foxy's Harbor Grille at 125 Mulberry Street advertises steamed seafood, homemade crab cakes and a waterfront view from every seat. Its homepage announces the 2026 season but doesn't list winter hours or a closing date. Across town, The Inn at Perry Cabin's STARS overlooks the Miles River. Check current hours with each restaurant before November plans depend on it.

The next time crowds gather on Navy Point after the Crab Claw closes, it will be for an oyster festival, which is roughly how the Jones family's business began.

Chuck Mangold, Jr. has followed St. Michaels harbor property through more than 24 years of sales, and Navy Point's next chapter is one he'll be watching as closely as anyone in town. If you own near the harbor and want to know how this stretch of waterfront is valued right now, Shore Luxury can help. Get Your Instant Home Valuation.