John Smolen was born and raised in the great state of Maryland. As a graduate from the University of Maryland, with degrees in both Finance and Accounting, John migrated to Las Vegas for a change in weather and work life balance. Upon arriving in Las Vegas, John and his brother Mark immediately noticed the lack of East Coast flavor and fresh seafood available. Leveraging their Maryland roots, where crab is king, they co-founded Nevada Seafood Distributors in 2008. That wholesale venture still focuses on importing live shellfish into Las Vegas daily.
As a natural progression, they started Crab Corner Maryland Seafood House in 2010. The original Crab Corner restaurant on Eastern Avenue was an instant hit. Crab Corner moved to its current expanded location on Rainbow Blvd in 2013. It offers the same great food, with a full bar and outdoor patio seating. While Mark has moved onto other ventures, John continues to operate both the wholesale business and restaurant. They remain family businesses with his wife Kelly (who is also from Maryland and met John at Crab Corner) and their two daughters, Sloane and Scarlett.
