The Orient causeway is truly a peaceful and tranquil landscape. My family drives this route everyday to and from work and many times throughout the day. It’s one of my mother’s favorite drives. Along with the many other treasures we are so blessed to witness on this path, is the infamous Crab Shack. Curiosity got the better of me and I was interested in digging a little deeper in to the history of the iconic shack.
So I went to one of the staples of the Orient Community (in order to protect the innocent I won’t mention names). The crab shack was moved to its current home around 1944 and it was owned by the Young family. The Shack was originally a wash house for the Mount Pleasant Hotel in Orient, which was across the street.
The story goes that eventually, every Saturday afternoon, the Orient business men would get together and have dinner at the crab shack. They would discuss everything under the sun. Yes, crabs were eaten, along with many other Peconic Bay treasures. So naturally one would assume the name came from the crabs that were always on the docks of the shack. But rumor has it became known as the Crab Shack from all the “older” gentleman that gathered there and "crabbed" about everything.
In the late 70′s early 80′s, some maintenance work was done. However, this spring the shack has had major work completed and it looks like we will enjoy the scenery for years to come.
