During a time of global unemployment, Maryland native twin sisters RaeShawn and LaShone Middleton both got laid off on the same day that month, two hours apart from each other, and quickly joined the unemployment demographic. This change inspired them to create their own crab delivery food service that did not exist in their neighborhood.
Before the pandemic, twins RaeShawn and LaShone worked as chefs at two different restaurant locations. In March of 2020, the government placed the country on lockdown to prevent the spread of COVID. With this decision in place, the unfortunate and inevitable loss of jobs for many Americans across the states was rampant.
One late summer night in 2020, RaeShawn and Lashone found themselves hungry and mutually decided on ordering crabs to eat. Upon realizing no one in their area was offering steamed blue crab, the chef twins decided to take matters into their own hands and began selling crabs themselves. Growing up, the twins were accustomed to the delicacy of crab as it was consumed in their household weekly. So essentially, preparing and cooking the crab was never a problem; initially, it was to find the right audience to sell to. In the beginning phase of R&L Crab, both RaeShawn and Lashone created social media accounts. They posted flyers around their community for obvious advertisement purposes. Within the first week of R&L crab, the twins received twenty orders from their community; that number quickly increased as the weeks went by.
RaeShawn and LaShone both recall feeling disposable when they lost their chef jobs in March 2020. It was unbeknownst to them that the setback they experienced would be the foundation for a business start-up that would bring happiness to their community while supporting themselves financially.
As of this past summer season, R&L Crab has fulfilled hundreds of orders of freshly made crabs per month. The twins, Raeshawn and LaShone, are currently saving up to purchase a mobile food truck to accommodate better. They have also been writing a book to inspire people further to start their businesses.
