Where Menlo Park Finds Fresh Fish for the Holidays With Cook's Closed and Crab Delayed
November 12, 2026
Dan Dowler started at Cook's Seafood on Nov. 1, 1972. His job interview, as he told The Almanac, was a single question: could he read and write? He worked the counter for more than five decades. At about 3 a.m. on Oct. 29, a text from owner Roy Crumrine Jr. told staff that every Cook's location had closed the day before, and that they should not drive in to work.
Longtime customer Tom Gibboney told Palo Alto Online that he drove up that same day to buy seafood and found a note on the door. The fish market had been in Menlo Park since 1928.
Two days after the closure, the state made a separate announcement that matters just as much for a holiday menu. Even with Cook's open, the local Dungeness crab that usually anchors a December table would not reach any counter on this stretch of coast before the new year. For Thanksgiving and the weeks after, Menlo Park's fresh fish now follows the fishing calendar.
The timing is what longtime staff kept pointing to. Dowler told Palo Alto Online:
"We're starting to go into our busy season, especially during the holidays like Thanksgiving, Christmas, etc. And of course, January and February are pretty good months too."
Cook's was a market and a restaurant. The counter sold swordfish, mahi mahi, Dungeness crab and live or cooked lobster. The dining room served sand dabs with steak-cut fries, petrale sole sandwiches, crab Louie and cioppino. Menlo Park resident Linda Hubbard told The Almanac that her "very frugal mother only bought seafood from Cook's," and that she had done the same.
The building has a future of some kind. Palo Alto Online reported that the Rahe family, who owned the business before the Crumrines, still owns the land. According to Dowler, the Menlo Park lease runs through 2028 and comes with two five-year extension options. His son, Chris Dowler, said he would like to find a way to take over the business and keep it going. In Pleasanton, where Cook's opened its second location in 2025, Pleasanton Weekly reported a new flyer saying the company is "restructuring its operations" and working out a path forward.
None of that puts fish on a counter in time for Thanksgiving on Nov. 26.
On Oct. 30, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife delayed the commercial Dungeness crab fishery from the Oregon border to Point Conception until at least Jan. 1, 2027. The reason was the number of humpback whale entanglements in 2026. That zone includes San Mateo County's ports. Under normal rules, the commercial season in this part of the coast opens Dec. 1. This year, Jan. 1 is the earliest possible date, not a set opening. CDFW expects its next risk assessment in mid-December, and that review will decide when boats can set traps.
Salmon is out too. CDFW's salmon page lists the 2026 commercial ocean salmon season as concluded. The fall recreational periods it lists ended Sept. 30 south of Pigeon Point and Oct. 31 north of it.
| Fishery | Status for the 2026 holidays | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Commercial Dungeness crab, Oregon border to Point Conception | Delayed until at least Jan. 1, 2027 | CDFW, Oct. 30, 2026 |
| Recreational Dungeness crab | Opened Nov. 7 in most areas; crab traps restricted until at least Jan. 1, 2027, while hoop nets and crab snares remain allowed | CDFW, Oct. 30, 2026 |
| Commercial ocean salmon | 2026 season concluded | CDFW salmon page |
For anyone who crabs from the coast, CDFW's rules allow hoop nets and crab snares during the trap restriction. Hoop nets must be checked at least every two hours and cannot be left unattended for longer. This is general information, not legal advice. Check CDFW's current regulations and its San Francisco region fishing map, which covers most of San Mateo County and was updated Nov. 7, before heading out.
So the season ahead has no local commercial crab, no salmon and no Cook's. Local fin fish is still being sold, and much of it comes directly from the boats that catch it.
The closest direct line to a local fishing boat is on Saturday mornings in Palo Alto. The Downtown Palo Alto Farmers' Market runs 8 a.m. to noon on Gilman Street between Forest and Hamilton and is listed as year-round, rain or shine. Its 2026 vendor list includes Pietro Parravano's F/V Anne B. The market lists the boat's catch as petrale sole, halibut, red snapper, sablefish and scallops, along with crab and salmon. In a 2006 profile, The Almanac reported that Parravano fished the Anne B out of Half Moon Bay and had sold at the Palo Alto market since 1987. The market's own FAQ says it usually takes about three Saturdays off over the holidays, so check its site before planning a December menu around it.
On Sundays, the Menlo Park Farmers' Market runs 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. in Parking Lot 6 on Chestnut Street, between Santa Cruz and Menlo avenues. The state's market directory, current as of Oct. 1, lists it as year-round. The Downtown Menlo listing includes fresh fish among what the market offers.
For fish straight off the boat, Pillar Point Harbor at One Johnson Pier in Half Moon Bay lists dockside fish sales and a fish market among its open activities. The San Mateo County Harbor District asks shoppers to call its Fish Line, 726-8724, to find out what is available before driving over the hill. The harbor's profile of the Jigmaster says Jack and Karen sell live rockfish from Slip D-12 on most Saturday mornings, depending on weather and catch.
On weekdays, Draeger's Market at 1010 University Drive in downtown Menlo Park is the nearest full seafood counter. Draeger's describes its seafood department as getting fresh fish daily, with live lobster and cooked crab. Its meat, fish and poultry department can be reached at 650-324-7723. For a specific cut or quantity around Thanksgiving, calling ahead is the simplest way to check.
In Palo Alto, Schaub's Meat, Fish & Poultry at Stanford Shopping Center describes itself as a full-service fish market with fresh fish. One reader commenting on the Palo Alto Online story named it as the first alternative that came to mind.
Any cooked crab at these counters before January will not come from this stretch of California's commercial fleet, because those boats cannot set traps until the state lifts the delay.
With the crab decision coming in December and the farmers markets running on their usual days, the season falls into a sequence:
Dowler said January and February are also busy months for seafood. If CDFW clears the fishery after its December review, local crab would arrive in that early-year stretch, after the holiday tables are cleared.
Long-established local businesses closing or changing hands is part of how a downtown evolves, and it often affects how a property's surroundings come across to buyers. If you are deciding when to bring a Menlo Park home to market, Yvette Stout can talk through what is opening, closing and changing on Santa Cruz Avenue and El Camino Real in a private consultation, with a pricing strategy built around it.
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