Catonsville’s go-to spot for steamed crabs soon may be no more.

Ship’s Cafe Restaurant and Crab House, which has served classic Maryland fare from its Frederick Road eatery for more than two decades, is being sold and is expected to reopen as an Asian and sushi restaurant, said David F. Mister, a lawyer representing the buyer.

Ship’s Cafe remains open for now. Its owner, Sharon Andrews, did not respond to multiple attempts to reach her at the restaurant and via social media.

The sale to Hing Mai, an Owings Mills resident, is not final and is pending additional administrative steps, Mister said.

Mai couldn’t be reached for comment, but Mister said she hopes to open the new concept this spring. It’s called Ginger & Gin.

County records show Mai filed an application with the Baltimore County liquor board Feb. 3, seeking to modify and transfer Ship’s Cafe’s liquor license to her. Andrews signed the application.

A hearing before the liquor board is scheduled for March 9.

Once the sale is complete, it will mark the end of an era for the popular Catonsville crab house.

It opened in 2002, when Andrews and her husband, Jim, purchased the former 828 Bar at the corner of Frederick Road and Winters Lane, according to a 2012 Baltimore Sun article. Ship’s Cafe began as a bar with four outdoor picnic tables, but its popularity soon prompted the owners to expand into an 1860s stone house next door.

It specialized in old-fashioned Maryland cuisine and, as such, crab featured prominently. Menu offerings included steamed crab, crab cakes, crab pretzels, shrimp and crab dip, corn and crab fritters, cream of crab soup and crab quesadillas.

Catonsville crab lovers have other ways to find crab fare.

Catonsville Gourmet, across the street from Ship’s Cafe, and Atlantic Food and Spirits, farther west along Frederick Road, offer crab cakes, soups and other foods with crab meat.

Meanwhile, The Fishmonger’s Daughter, from the owners of Faidley’s Seafood in Baltimore, is set to open on Frederick Road this year after several delays since its 2020 announcement.

For now, you’ll have to travel a little bit to get a mess of steamed crabs. There are other crab houses and seafood markets a short drive away in Arbutus, Baltimore, Elkridge, Ellicott City and Gwynn Oak, and even a crab truck in Woodlawn.