Being voted the Eastern Shore’s Best Steamed Crabs by perhaps the planet’s pickiest crab connoisseurs is no small feat. And it’s no fluke that the Old Mill Crab House has been awarded this honor for 14 years running by the readers of Metropolitan Magazine. Or that Old Mill was again named Best Crab House in Southern Delaware by the readers of Delaware Today.

So many of Old Mill’s loyal customers continue coming back year after year to savor an unforgettable dining experience, it’s truly become an Eastern Shore tradition. And Old Mill’s reputation keeps growing, enticing people from outside the area to want to experience it for themselves.

This summer the Old Mill Crab House brings its trademark wooden floors and paper-covered tables to a brand-new eatery at 125th St. and Coastal Hwy., in Ocean City.  “It’s a great location with plenty of parking, just over the Fenwick line, so it’s easy to reach from the Delaware beaches as well as Ocean City,” said Don Prouse who, along with wife Hilary, became the proud owners two years ago.

“The beach traffic used to prevent people from reaching the (otherwise) convenient Delmar restaurant easily. Now, when people are home they can have a great meal, and when they’re on vacation they can have a great meal,” added Don, a Delaware native and longtime customer at the former Bethany Beach location. “It was always my favorite restaurant, hands down,” he said, and his wife agreed.

“We had one of our first dates there,” Hilary recalled, “and we just kept going back. The re-opening day was always marked on our calendar every year,” she said. As a mom of two teenagers and a baby, she appreciates the family-oriented atmosphere and the variety of the menu. “There’s just so much to choose from. The new location will be a great fit for the beach, summer and fun-times,” she said.      

Don shared his wife’s enthusiasm. “I truly love this restaurant,” he said, “We’ve got that tried and true recipe that’s been successful and we haven’t changed that a bit,” he added. While referring to the restaurant’s custom-made crab seasoning, he could have been describing the Old Mill’s friendly service, complete food and bar menu, and laid back atmosphere.

Customers continue to line up for its famous all-you-can-eat crab feasts complete with all the fixins’ including hush puppies, fried chicken, fried shrimp, clam strips, and farm-fresh local corn in season. The menu also features plenty of other perennial crowd pleasers including Chicken Chesapeake, steamed shrimp, crab imperial, lobster, and Certified Angus Beef steaks. And Old Mill is still the only crab house where you’ll find only No. 1 crabs (the best of the best) served.

The quality (and quantity) of the food is one reason people keep coming back to Old Mill, time after time, but not the only one. “Customers know our menu, they know our staff, they know our atmosphere, so they know what they’re getting,” Don said. “I can’t tell you how many people have told us they used to work there, or used to eat there when they were young. People home on vacation to visit family come by or call us. We even get calls during the off season, over Christmas, with people wanting to stop by.”

Margaret Ann and Ralph Smith have been Old Mill customers “just about since it opened,” Margaret Ann said. As part of Delmarva Power Company’s Vin Cinq Club (or 25 Year Club) for active and retired employees, they’ve gotten together with up to 300 of the group’s members every April and July for a crab and steamed shrimp feast. 
“What I like about Old Mill Crab House is that they have enough seating in one area to allow us to all get together in the same space. Right from the start, Don and Hilary treated us just like we’re family,” she said.

In fact, Old Mill can easily accommodate any sized group, large or small, from families with kids to friends celebrating girls’ night out, birthdays, anniversaries and reunion parties, plus Little League teams and bus tour groups.

Ginny Deputy is another longtime Old Mill customer. An operating room nurse at Nanticoke Memorial Hospital in Seaford, Deputy has more than her share of stressful days. “Just going to Old Mill is such a tension release, I always feel better just walking in the door,” she said, adding that she recommends Old Mill to people from out of town. “I always send them over to Old Mill,” she said, because she’s confident they’ll be well taken care of.

She showered praise on the waitresses and owners alike, appreciative of how they “always make me feel welcome the minute I come in, always feel comfortable.” Even when the servers are busy (and they always are!) they go out of their way to greet her, she said. “Last year on my birthday, every single waitress came out and sang ‘Happy Birthday’ to me; you talk about feeling touched,” she recalled. “The owner, Don, is great. He’ll sit down at my table, ask me how my day was, how’s work going,” she said.

Employees as well as customers are eager to share their sense of pride in and love for the Old Mill, many referring to it as more of a second home than a job, citing an extra special environment that keeps drawing them back year after year.

Early education teacher Rich Lynert, a bartender and greeter at Old Mill for six seasons, spoke glowingly of its warm, welcoming family atmosphere. He credits his coworkers’ camaraderie and hospitality, hard work and dedication. “We really enjoy what we do, and take pride in our quality,” he said, praising the ‘‘exquisite jumbo lump crab cakes and entrées made to order. Our cooks and servers are tremendous.”

Mail delivery person Leslie Wootten has been a server and kitchen manager at Old Mill for the past 13 years, and now has three kids working there as well. She agreed with Lynert that “it’s a great place to work. We take pride in the quality of service and love our customers.”

Nurse Christine Hagel got her first waitress job at Old Mill as a teenager and has been there 16 years. “Once you work there, you just don’t want to leave,” she said. Hagel’s grateful to Don and Hilary for allowing her wedding reception to take place there prior to this year’s opening. She had nothing but praise for the new owners, calling them “a blessing, a welcome change. They haven’t changed a thing about our menu, but they did put in central air for those of us working in the back,” she added with a chuckle.

The Ocean City Old Mill Crab House will benefit from the expertise of long time Delmar staff members, including Director of Operations John Snarsky, as well as at least half a dozen from the old Bethany location, notably cook and kitchen manager Wanda Jones. “I came back because Old Mill is my life; I love Old Mill…and, I’m good at what I do,” she added with an infectious smile. Managers Brian Woods and Evelyn Myers will keep things running as smoothly as ever at the Delmar location. After 26 years, Myers still gets excited about working in such a unique environment. “What can I say, I just love the place!” she said.

Start your own Eastern Shore tradition at the Old Mill Crab House and Restaurant at 125th St. and Bayside (410-250-CRAB), at Rt. 54 & Waller Rd., Delmar, Del., 302-846-2808, and
www.oldmillcrabhouse.com.