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It was Nov. 1, 1972 when veteran Dan Dowler applied to owner Roy Crumrine for a job at Cook’s Seafood in Menlo Park.
“My interview consisted of, “Do you know how to read and write?’ and I said, ‘Yes, I do,’ and (Roy) said, ‘Well, you’re hired then.’”
Dowler had been working as a counter clerk at Cook’s Seafood for 55 years, until Oct. 29 at around 3 a.m., when he received a text message from Crumrine’s son, current owner Roy Crumrine Jr.
“We are sad to inform you that after 98 years, we have closed all Cook’s Seafood locations Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2026,” the text message read. “Our family thanks you for all your years of service, and we’re sorry for saying this so late tonight. But we don’t want you to drive to work tomorrow, as the building is closed. We’ll send out more updates later today.”
As of 2 p.m. on Oct. 29, Dowler said he has not received any update. Roy Crumrine Jr. did not reply to requests for comment before this article’s deadline.
In 1928, Cook’s Seafood was founded by Bill Cook, a local policeman-turned-entrepreneur, in Menlo Park. In the 1940s, he sold the business to Robert Rahe, who owned the seafood market until his death. In 1963, Rahe’s wife sold the business to an employee who had been with them since 1955: Roy Crumrine, who continued to run the business until his death.
“He was a very generous man,” Dowler said. “He expected us to work hard for him, and he rewarded everybody accordingly. And he was a great man to work for.”
Cook’s Seafood was both a fish market and restaurant. The market offered all sorts of fish and shellfish, including swordfish, mahi mahi, orange roughy, Dungeness crab, and live or cooked lobster. The restaurant’s menu featured fish and chips, sand dabs served with steak-cut French fries, petrale sole sandwiches, salmon patty fish burgers, crab Louie salad, clam chowder and cioppino, among other fish-based dishes.
Dowler said he doesn’t know why Cook’s Seafood closed or why the notice was so abrupt, but he was “surprised” by the news, noting that summer is typically the slowest season for fish and that Cook’s was about to enter its most profitable season. From Dowler’s perspective, business seemed steady, he said.
“It was a wonderful organization to work for, and we had wonderful people come in and out of Cook’s Seafood,” he said. “It was just a marvelous atmosphere.”
For Menlo Park resident Linda Hubbard, the closure of Cook’s Seafood is a loss to the community.
“My very frugal mother only bought seafood from Cook’s when I was growing up in Menlo Park,” she said. “And I’ve followed in her footsteps. Always the best — it will be missed.”
While the Menlo Park location has been a longtime staple, Cook’s had a Pleasanton location that was nearly brand new – it only opened last year, despite teasing its opening since 2017. It also closed on Oct. 29.
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It’s sad to see that the current management didn’t have the vision of the founder and couldn’t figure out a way to keep the doors open for the next generation. I guess Roy Crumrine Jr. just couldn’t be bothered.
What a bummer. Went here with my dad all the time as a kid. Now I take my kid here, well took. Huge loss for Menlo.
Let’s not be so quick to blame the current owner! Operating a restaurant today is an extraordinary challenge and restaurants are closing all over the Bay Area. I am sure this wasn’t a decision that was made easily.
Cook’s is the oldest business in Menlo Park and they had quite a run. They will be missed!
Things change. Businesses close sometimes. But it is not ok to shut down a running business with effectively zero notice and zero communication to employees. The 3am text is framed as doing them a favor. Sure, maybe. But only if there is prompt follow-up. Nothing all day is not acceptable.
– Will they be given severance? The law doesn’t require it in CA usually, but honorable employers would.
– When will final paychecks be delivered? CA REQUIRES that payment to be made on the day of termination. That appears to not have happened (there are penalties already due)
Do better
Gonna miss my friends at Cooks.
No business that has been operating for 98 years just suddenly goes out of business. No business that has been struggling just emails their employees at 3:00AM to tell them not to come to work. This is very strange and I hope the Almanac follows this story. It does not sound at all reasonable nor logical, but reeks of something “fishy!” (Okay pardon that last pun, but it does seem like something strange is going on!)
Very shocking and disappointing…Dan and all of the staff were extraordinarily kind and knowledgeable, not to mention the incredibly fresh and delicious fish I brought home to cook for my family. It sounds like the Pleasanton location was an expensive disaster…what a shame.
Wonder if revenue wasn’t enough to cover the expansion to Pleasanton