Crazy Fish, New Wave: Fresh Management, Familiar Favorites
by James Coulter
If you’re looking for a real hidden gem of a restaurant, you’ll certainly want to hunt down Crazy Fish in Lake Wales.
Located at 802 Henry St., this quaint little eatery is famous for its fresh seafood baskets and signature pasta dishes.
Newcomers are especially encouraged to start with the restaurant’s two runaway favorites: crab rangoon eggrolls (golden, crispy rolls stuffed with creamy crab filling), and the shrimp and grits with bacon gravy (tender shrimp and smoky bacon gravy melted over a bed of rich, stone‑ground grits).
Whether you’re in the mood for fresh seafood, especially the catch of the day, or craving something heartier like a juicy hamburger or a perfectly seasoned steak, Crazy Fish delivers exactly what you’re after.
Its current owner, Dwayne McQuillen, has 15 to 20 years of experience in the restaurant industry, helping to open several corporate eateries across the state, including Disney Springs. He would later purchase Harry’s Old Place in 2017, and one year later, set his eyes on acquiring Crazy Fish from its previous owners.
“Crazy Fish has been around for a long time, so we want it to continue to be around for a while longer,” McQuillen said. “It is an established restaurant that has been in this town for 20 plus years now, so we would like to get another 20 years out of it and make it a place where Lake Wales is proud of it. [When] they come, family and friends in town, we want to be their first choice.”
While rumors spread about Crazy Fish being moved to a new location, for McQuillen, the real question was whether or not to reopen. Eventually, he decided not only to reopen, but also to rebrand, preserving what customers have come to love about the old eatery while expanding and improving upon it.
“What we tried to do is to take a little bit of the old and bring in a little bit of the new and rebrand it,” McQuillen said. “Everyone has their own opinion…there are certainly disappointed people who used to get this or that on the menu…but once they try some of our new items, they are happy and coming back.”
Taking over for Crazy Fish proved to be a real challenge, but a challenge that McQuillen nevertheless managed to overcome with great results. By rolling up his sleeves and applying elbow grease, McQuillen managed to take an existing beloved establishment and continue its legacy of serving great, fresh seafood.
“It’s been a lot; there’s definitely been a transition that has been difficult, but so far, I think we have it figured out already,” McQuillen said. “It was challenging. There were several years when we struggled…We put in a lot of work that was needed, and people have come to like it.”
Dwayne McQuillen recently sat down with our correspondent, Ethan Jones, to be interviewed about his experience in the restaurant industry and with Crazy Fish. Listen to the interview on the recent minisode of the Chattin on the Ridge podcast: https://shows.acast.com/chattin-on-the-ridge/episodes/minisode-30-crazy-fish-seafood-shack
