Bryan restaurant says cold weather affecting crawfish

Local restaurateurs are saying the freezing weather that hit Texas earlier in January is negatively affecting crawfish season.

"We started boiling crawfish last week on Thursday," Shipwreck Grill owner Wade Beckman said. "It is kind of a day by day thing, with cold weather, but it has officially started."

Beckman said the taste of the crawfish is unharmed by the unfavorable weather, but they are smaller and more expensive for both restaurants and customers.

"The colder it gets, the further down into the mud they go," Beckman said. "They are harder to farm and the smaller they are the more volatile they can be. They don't last as long and they aren't quite as hardy."

Another problem the cold weather presents is buyers finding more dead crawfish. That means fewer make it to dinner tables. Cooks are forced to spend extra time separating what's worth eating before they put them in the pot.

Despite these early struggles, Beckman has faith this season will turn around.

"As long as it doesn't freeze in February," said Beckman. "We will be good to go all season."

Shipwreck Grill begins serving limited crawfish at 6 pm every night.