US seafood favourite The Boiling Crab is opening its first five restaurants in Australia under a master franchise agreement.

The Boiling Crab has more than 20 locations in the US and a brand new venue in Shanghai.

The news that state area master franchisees have been appointed for Queensland and Victoria comes two years after the southern seafood brand first mooted its move into the Australian market.

Melbourne-based Asian catering company Little Dragon Group will take ownership of the brand’s expansion across the two states, focused on locations in Brisbane and Melbourne.

Little Dragon Group was established five years ago and now has an average annual turnover of about $10m. 

Eddy Chen, Little Dragon Group’s interstate general manager and financial controller, said there is plenty of potential to grow the fledgling business concept here.

“So far the Cajun seafood concept is still quite new to the Australian market, and while there are few restaurants that claim to offer Cajun seafood, there’s no comparing to The Boiling Crab.”

Core to the restaurant’s profile is a menu of crab, crawfish, lobster, and shrimp, with fresh seafood prepared in giant pots of seasoned broth, made to order and served in bags to preserve flavour.

“There are very few restaurants that focus on boiling seafood with different seasonings, however the industry still has a huge potential to expand and we are excited to bring the flavours and tastes of The Boiling Crab down under,” he said.