Photo of Captain Crab entrance contributed.

Sierra Vista Mall will welcome a new restaurant to the eastern side of the shopping center, adjacent to the Sierra Vista Cinema — a site that has been vacant for well over a year now.

In 2018, owner Michael Yuan opened the first Captain Crab restaurant in San Jose and has since opened restaurants in Sacramento and Elk Grove. The Clovis location will be the restaurant’s fourth location — all of them in California.

“I want to open this restaurant in Clovis and introduce people to this type of food,” he said. “I definitely see a good business opportunity, especially the location inside the Sierra Vista Mall.”

Yuan said the community in Clovis currently has limited options for seafood boil restaurants, adding that similar restaurants are located miles away and in less populated areas than the Clovis mall.

San Jose-based seafood restaurant Captain Crab will open its doors in early February, introducing Cajun-style seafood ranging from fried fish and chicken to mussels, lobster tail and Dungeness crab.

The restaurant will also offer po’ boy sandwiches as well as appetizers, drinks and desserts.

A casual dining restaurant, Captain Crab will offer outdoor seating with two patios and a bar serving draft beer and wine, as well as six tv screens for patrons to enjoy sports and other entertainment.

The location, previously home to Rio Grill Brazilian Steakhouse, has been vacant since the restaurant closed in 2021. Yuan signed the lease agreement on the site earlier this year.

“We signed the lease in April, but didn’t get everything started until October,” he said. “We’re at the end of the preparation for our grand opening process.”

The store will look to hire around 12 employees and is searching for experienced servers and hosts, but has yet to finalize staff as they wait for a concrete opening date. Yuan says that applications are being accepted, but he has not begun interviewing potential candidates, pending a concrete opening date.

“I don’t want people to have to wait too long,” Yuan said regarding applicants.

A grand opening is yet to be announced, but Yuan said customers who attend the grand opening will be able to take advantage of 10% off specials throughout the day.

Captain Crab will be open from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., Sunday through Thursday, and 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday.