New Restaurant Coming to Shuttered Hudson Valley Diner

A new business is coming to the former Table Talk Diner.

In June the doors permanently closed at one of the Hudson Valley's most popular diners. The Table Talk Diner on Route 9 in Poughkeepsie announced that it would be shutting down after 10 years at the Spackenkill Plaza. Since then, the large restaurant has sat vacant.

Now it appears that a new restaurant will soon be moving in, but the project is surrounded by a little bit of mystery. Signs were erected this weekend for the E Crab Cajun Seafood and Bar on the empty restaurant as well as the plaza's sign on Route 9. The Table Talk's iconic red and white awnings have been also been changed, painted in a layer of dark blue paint. Crews were busy inside on Monday doing construction.

An Internet search pulled up a website for the new restaurant which shows its location at the former Table Talk Diner. The menu consists of chicken and fish baskets, Po'boy sandwiches, burgers, crab legs and other seafood selections. The number listed, however, is currently out of service.

Although the restaurant appears to be weeks away from opening, their food is already available on Doordash. On Monday afternoon the delivery service was taking orders for the new E Crab menu. Customers who opted to pick up their deliveries were directed to the Tasty Crab House restaurant just up the road in the T.J. Maxx plaza.

I called Tasty Crab House to inquire if they were moving to the new E Crab location or if both restaurants would remain open, but was told that they had nothing to do with the new spot being built on Route 9.

Tasty Crab House's website says the restaurant serves "Cajun Style, finger-lickin'" menu items which sounds very much like the new E Crab's description. It's also unclear why the new restaurant's menu is now being sold out of the Tasty Crab's kitchen.

UPDATE: We heard back from the manager of the Tasty Crab House, Vincent, who confirmed that they have no affiliation with E Crab. In fact, he called them a "competitor." It's unclear why Doordash had the two businesses mixed up, but Vincent said he had reached out to them to investigate the issue. A check of the Doordash app shows that E Crab Seafood Restaurant and Bar is now classified as closed and points to their new location in the Spackenkill Plaza.

The Tasty Crab House made it clear that they are not merging with the other restaurant and has no intention to close. He said he's here to stay and ready to battle it out. Let the crab wars begin!