Cole Gee April 21, 2026
image
The Crawfish Critic and Seafood Co. will open a new brick-and-mortar location this May in downtown Conroe.

Two-minute impact

According to its website, the company was founded in 2020 by Christian Waldo, who originally founded the company to enter cook-off events to help raise money for charity. After many years with the company and the Southern Cajun Cookoff Association. Waldo and his team are preparing to officially open in the Conroe area.

The new storefront will be offering more than just crawfish, according to a March 25 Facebook post. The business will be offering a wide variety of sauces, seasonings and supplies, including but not limited to:

  • King Kooker pots, burners & gear
  • Cajun sauces and seafood essentials
  • Lapeyroux’s crawfish hand cleaner products
  • Restaurant supplies

The official opening of the store will be on May 24, and The Crawfish Critic will also be hosting a cook-off and festival on May 22-23.

By Cole Gee

Cole joined Community Impact in 2025 as the general assignment reporter for the Tomball/Magnolia and Conroe/Montgomery areas. Before joining CI, Cole worked for many different news organizations, including KWBU News, The Houston Defender, and his alma mater’s student newspaper, The Baylor Lariat. When not reporting on local school board meetings and community events, you can find him at a Rockets, Astros or Texans game, listening to music, reading comic books or enjoying a nice workout at his boxing gym.