Tommy, the largest crab statue in world, can be found in Myrtle Beach, SC. Here’s where

When entering Myrtle Beach from the north on U.S. 17, it’s near impossible to miss Giant Crab Seafood Restaurant.

That is because the buffet, located at 9597 North Kings Highway, has a 25-foot tall crab stuck to the front of the restaurant. He appears to be tipping his hat — which has his name, Tommy, written across the front — to customers as a greeting.

Tommy is not simply a large crab statue. He’s the largest crab statue in the world, according to the World Record Academy.

He’s 25-feet tall, 34-feet wide and weighs over four tons. When he was first built in 2001, owner Tommy Vlahos had to rent a crane from Virginia in order to put the crab on the front of the restaurant, said manager Brigitte Wilson.

“The owner, Mr. Tommy Vlahos, decided to put a giant crab statue on the front of the restaurant to catch the customers eye and welcome business in,” Wilson said in an email. “He also wanted to convey that Giant Crab is a fun, family restaurant.”

A feat of art and construction

Giant Crab opened in 2001 and Tommy the crab went up around six months later. Vlahos spent around $175,000 on the crab, Wilson said. That is the equivalent of $313,000 in today’s money, according to the CPI Inflation Calculator.

The crab is made of fiberglass and reinforced steel rods. When it was first constructed, Wilson said the artist underestimated both the amount of paint needed and the amount of orange paint available. As a result, the artist ran out of paint and was unable to get more, leaving the crab partially-finished.

“He sat out back on the Intracoastal (Waterway) and he was half yellow and half orange for the longest time,” Wilson said. “People would joke that our crab had jaundice.”

Once the crab was finished, Vlahos ran into another problem: Getting a crane large enough to lift the crab off the ground. There were none available that could lift 4 tons nearby, so he had to rent and bring in a crane from Norfolk, Virginia, Wilson said.

Once Tommy was attached to the front of the restaurant, he was not going to move. He’s survived multiple hurricanes with only one major injury.

In October 2018, Hurricane Michael tore off one of Tommy’s eyes, sending it to the Kroger parking lot across the street from Giant Crab. Kroger employees brought the eyeball back and Wilson said it took around a month for it to be re-attached.

Despite the eyeball incident, Wilson said Tommy is very sturdy and well-connected to the restaurant.

“I joke with the bus groups that if there’s bad weather in the area, come hang on to the crab,” Wilson said.

Keeping up with the crab

Since Tommy has no cover protection, he faces the elements head and claw on. The many sunny days in Myrtle Beach would, without regular touch ups, leave him cracked and faded.

Local artist Dorina Fraser said she spends around a week painting Tommy every year. She comes in the mornings during the off-season, usually in December or January, and fills in cracks, scrapes off bird poop and removes any other blemishes.

Then she gets to painting. It usually takes around seven to 10 gallons of paint to fully cover Tommy. She uses three shades of orange and white to airbrush the crab.

She said the hardest challenge with painting the crab wasn’t the painting, but maneuvering the cherry picker. Vlahos rents a bucket lift, which Fraser uses to get high enough to paint all of Tommy.

“I was really scared of heights,” Fraser said. “But now I’ve conquered my fear.”

A dining experience

When eating at Giant Crab, the goal is to have an experience, not just a meal. When customers come by, they are given a tour of the restaurant which has multiple dining rooms, all featuring different themes.

Fraser painted murals all over the restaurant, helping guests feel like they’re along the coast in Europe, deep underwater or on a pirate ship, depending on which dining room they eat in.

The buffet has over 170 choices, ranging from a raw bar, crab legs, prime rib to other southern classics, such as macaroni and cheese and hush puppies.

After patrons are done eating, there’s a photographer that will take a photo of the group with Tommy the crab. Wilson said they do that because patrons love snapping pictures of Tommy and she wants to make sure everyone is in the photo.

“I love the fact that people are always taking pictures out front,” Wilson said. “We must be in so many photo albums all over the world.”