Eating freshly boiled crawfish off a picnic table is an experience.
“People gather around the pot and exchange stories,” said Blake Groomer, the director of Groomer’s Seafood. “They drink beer, and it’s kind of a slow-going process.”
He’s a pro at picking the meatiest ones.
“These guys right here — these are going to be the prime ones,” he said, holding a crawfish.
Groomer said being pinched by the Cajun crustacean is part of the business, and so is supply and demand.
A pound of crawfish typically costs about $5, but this season, it’s closer to $12.
“Have you ever seen anything like this?” asked KSAT reporter Daniela Ibarra.
“No, I haven’t,” responded Groomer. “I’ve been doing crawfish for about 12 years now. It’s never been this high.”
Groomer said the crawfish are harvested in Louisiana, bagged up, and driven to San Antonio overnight.
“To offset all that cost with bait and traps, they’re having to go higher on their pricing, which then trickles down to our level,” he said.
Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry issued a disaster declaration for the crawfish industry in early March, blaming drought conditions.
“Are you noticing people are buying less of it because the prices have gone up?” asked Ibarra.
“What’s crazy is no,” answered Groomer. “We’re still selling like usual, actually. It’s kind of interesting.”
