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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 was nearly brand new – it only opened last year, despite teasing its opening since 2017.
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