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Big Al’s Crab Shack is set to open in Ozark this month.
Photo provided by Big Al’s Crab Shack
Big Al’s Crab Shack is set to open in Ozark this month.

Seafood eatery nears launch date in Ozark

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The owner of a pair of sandwich shops in Christian County is set to launch a seafood eatery this month in Ozark.

Big Al’s Crab Shack is targeting an April 15 opening at 502 N. Third St., said owner Allan Willoughby. He said the seafood concept, which includes a menu of snow crabs, shrimp and lobster tails, has been on his mind for years.

“I love seafood, and I feel there’s no place in southwest Missouri that offers good seafood, other than the chain restaurant, Red Lobster. It’s very limited,” said Willoughby, also the namesake of Big Al’s Subs, which he started in 2015.

The 1,100-square-foot restaurant fills space formerly occupied by Purple Burrito, which shut down, Willoughby said, adding landlord Kyle Estes did some remodeling on the building last year.

“It just really made it more attractive to me. It’s an old building and has been several restaurants throughout the years,” he said.

Willoughby said startup costs were around $30,000, and he is on a one-year lease with Estes for an undisclosed rate.

Big Al’s Crab Shack is less than a half-mile from Willoughby’s other Ozark establishment, Big Al’s Subs at 206 N. First St. He opened it in 2019, four years after starting the original sub shop in Nixa.

Willoughby said he expects to employ six at Big Al’s Crab Shack, noting some of the staff also would work at the Ozark sub shop.

This month’s scheduled opening is the second attempt for the seafood restaurant in as many years, Willoughby said. He originally planned to open it last April in Nixa and had found a likely location. But the arrival of the coronavirus pandemic altered the plan, he said.

“Subsequently, that went away, and it’s been a year I’ve been waiting to find another location,” he said.

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