Carryout is king during these pandemic times. When the carryout is king crab—or Maryland’s famous blue crabs—even better for area seafood lovers.
The success of Harbour House Crabs is no fish story or fisherman’s tale. Jessica and Curt Engle hooked the catch of their lives 20 years ago when they founded their Harrisburg-based business. This anniversary year of 2020 seemed like perfect timing for the opening of their brand-new facility, just off Eisenhower Boulevard.
The move in March consolidated their previous locations into one larger facility where they could still offer carryout, yet have easy access to major Fed Ex hubs. That’s because central Pennsylvanians aren’t the only ones who love Harbour House’s seafood favorites. Seafood is shipped (say that fast ten times) throughout the country, every day. And they’re grateful they made the move, right before the pandemic hit.
“We typically ship to all 50 states within every week,” says Curt. “We ship to California every day—plus Florida and New York—those are our top three states. Lots of customers are ex-Marylanders, and blue crabs are only available from the East Coast.”
Those famous crabs are the heart of Harbour House’s business—their website is even “ilovecrabs.com”.
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“Our business is a steam-to-order business,” Curt explains. He walks through the facility, showing us the process: trucks pull into the facility with fresh catches straight from the docks along Maryland’s Eastern Shore, with additional menu favorites hailing from the Gulf Coast and North Carolina.
The couple’s nephew was hard at work, sorting crabs by size, on the day we visited. Some crabs go directly into a giant outdoor steamer that holds up to 18 bushels at a time. For those of you interested in the math, there are five to eight dozen crabs in a bushel, so the steamer can rustle up between 1,000 and 1,700 crabs at a shot.
Inside Harbour House, which employs a staff of 15, orders are packed with dry ice or frozen gel packs and shipped out the same day so that customers nationwide receive their hauls the very next day. One employee’s sole job is to concoct Harbour House’s delicious and generous crab cakes, made in true Maryland style with no fillers, a secret seasoning blend, and oh-so-sweet crabmeat.
Giant display cases hold much more than crabs—customers can feast their eyes on ginormous King Crab legs, lobster tails, clams, oysters, shrimp, and crab cakes. Harbour House’s “merch” includes all the fun accessories needed for a good old-fashioned crab feast—wooden crab mallets, brown Kraft paper, even Harbor House’s own cookbook and seasonings.
“It’s not only the flavor of the crabs, but having a crab feast is about spending time with family and friends,” says Jessica.
And that’s how the business got its start.
Curt spent senior week of high school in Ocean City, Maryland with a group of buddies. They began a crab feast tradition that continued into their college years. Today, those same buddies still get together—now with their families. The Engles, married for 15 years, have three sons. In fact, Pennsylvania natives Curt and Jessica have known each other since childhood, and they still live in Elizabethtown where they grew up.
So how did Curt turn his love of crab feasts into a business? About six years into his career as a tool and die engineer with Amp and Tyco, he launched Harbour House as “a hobby.” The couple quickly realized they could launch a full-time business.
Twenty years later, Harbour House is a fixture for regular customers, many of whom the Engles know by name. They have also developed relationships with regional restaurants, supplying them with wholesale seafood.
“During the pandemic, wholesale slowed down with restaurants closing, yet our volumes went through the roof, thanks to carryout and shipping orders,” Curt says. “Our volume in April was three times our normal April.”
The couple credits much of their success to their staff—many of whom have been with them for years, including family members. Curt’s mother works in accounting, and Jessica’s father is behind the wheel of their Harbour House delivery truck.
They’re also grateful for relationships with Chesapeake Bay watermen, where the business began 20 years ago.
“We basically were going down to Maryland, meeting people, knocking on doors, and we began by purchasing from 100 different boats,” Curt recalls.
Like most married couples, especially those who operate businesses together, the Engles often finish each other’s sentences.
“We no longer go looking—now they come looking for us,” Jessica adds.
Harbour House Crabs
1752 Highland St., Harrisburg, PA 17111
717-939-2008
