Preparing for crawfish season in Hattiesburg

HATTIESBURG, Miss. (WDAM) - After lying dormant for six months or so like the mudbugs themselves, the South Mississippi Crawfish Company is just about ready to spring into a new year of crawdaddy.

Crawfish season is expected to boom full bore by the end of January.

“As we start, really, it’s just cleaning up since we shut down six months out of the year,” SMCC co-owner/manager Paul Sims said. “We’re just shining the restaurant, getting everything cleaned and ready to go stocking the freezers.”

The company, just up the road from the Oak Grove High School football stadium on old Highway 11, started seven years ago.

Sims said he never expected it to turn out like this.

“It started out as a project with a buddy of mine,” Sims said. “Just something fun to do on the weekends, Then, it kind of grew from there.”

Sims said while the company loves cranking out the crawfish, it’s definitely a seasonal concern, thanks to the critters themselves as well as their staff.

“We use college guys for our labor, so once they’re out of school, that’s it, we’re done,” Sims said. “We had 15 employees last year, and when they all went home, we had three left, so it’s just not feasible.”

The South Mississippi Crawfish Company will open on Jan. 26, and then be open on Thursday and Fridays, from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m., and Saturdays from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m.

Now, if crawfish doesn’t move the needle, the SMCC also serves up shrimp, corn, sausage and potatoes.

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