Krusty Krab
The SpongeBob SquarePants Wiki - Your SpongeBob resource since 2007.
| "Krusty Krab" | |
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| Industry: | Fast Food |
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| Founder: | Eugene H. Krabs |
| Location: | Conch Street Bikini Bottom |
| Employment: | 2 |
| Products: | Krabby Patties, fries, soft drinks, Coral Bits |
| Subsidiaries: | Krusty Krab 2 Kuddly Krab (temporary project) |
The Krusty Krab is a fast food restaurant in the city of Bikini Bottom, founded and owned by Eugene H. Krabs. The Krusty Krab used to be a pirate ship as seen in Grandpappy the Pirate. It is the most popular restaurant in Bikini Bottom. Mr. Krabs is literally obsessed with money and is openly concerned only with making money and absolutely nothing else. Because of this, he frequently abuses his employees and customers. The restaurant's signature food and the reason for its immense popularity is the Krabby Patty and its mysterious secret formula. Other products include typical fast food products such as fries and sodas, as well as underwater foods such as "Coral Bits" and "Kelp Rings". The restaurant's menu is called "Galley Grub". Other than Mr. Krabs himself, the restaurant has only two full-time employees: SpongeBob SquarePants, the fry cook, and Squidward Tentacles, the cashier. SpongeBob is both extremely skilled at his job and has an abnormal love of it, while Squidward hates is job and performs it lazily. The two employees have difficulties with working together; Squidward hates SpongeBob, while SpongeBob exacerbates the situation by remaining completely oblivious to Squidward's spiteful attitude. The Krusty Krab's main business competitor is the Chum Bucket, owned by Sheldon J. Plankton, Mr. Krabs' personal arch-nemesis. While the Chum Bucket is extremely unpopular, Plankton constantly attempts to discover the Krabby Patty's secret formula so that he can reverse-engineer it and serve them at the Chum Bucket. Stephen Hillenburg's original name for the Krusty Krab was the "Crusty Crab," but he decided that the intentional misspelling was funnier.
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Company history
According to the episode "Krusty Krab Training Video", the Krusty Krab was born when Mr. Krabs, who had been secluded in a deep depression that seemed endless following a war, acquired a bankrupt retirement home called the "Rusty Krab". However, the later episode "Grandpappy the Pirate" directly contradicts this, depicting that Mr. Krabs was once a seafaring pirate and that the Krusty Krab was originally his ship.
In "Friend or Foe", which is generally considered the canonical account of the origin of Mr. Krabs and Plankton's rivalry, it is shown that Mr. Krabs first went into the fast food business in his childhood. The Krabby Patty secret formula was created when a shelf was broken during Krabs and Plankton's struggle, causing various ingredients to slide into the patty batter. However, other episodes, most notably "Enemy In-Law", state that the Krabby Patty and its formula is a family recipe. In "Dunces and Dragons", it is shown that the Krabby Patty was first served in medieval times by an ancestor of Mr. Krabs, who was introduced to it as a result of SpongeBob and Patrick's time traveling.
Design and features
The Krusty Krab building has a wooden chassis with glass windows/walls. There is a large clam-shaped sign in front of the building, similar to those used by real-life fast food restaurants, and five International maritime signal flags above the front door.
Like other buildings in the series, the Krusty Krab's interior design is highly inconsistent between episodes. The Krusty Krab's basic floor plan consists of one main eating area, with the kitchen, Mr. Krabs' office, and bathrooms in separate rooms at the back of the building. The order stand consists of a small boat directly in front of the window leading to the kitchen.
Apart from its excellent food, the Krusty Krab exhibits many of the undesirable qualities of real-life fast food restaurants. It is dirty and cheaply maintained, and the building is often shown to be in a state of disrepair. In the "Krusty Krab Training Video", basic features of modern fast food restaurants implemented by the Krusty Krab are described as "the latest achievements in fast food technology" and given extravagant descriptions. This "technology" includes:
- Spatula: "Advanced patty-control mechanism".
- Cash register: "Automated money-handling system".
- Ice Cubes: "Imported high quality temperature devices".
- Straws: "Prototype liquid transfer machines".
- Ketchup packets: "State of the art condiment dispersal units".
Business and advertising
The Krusty Krab is the most successful restaurant in Bikini Bottom. Customers are mostly attracted because it's cheap and has good food. The Krusty Krab training video states that customers are what keeps the restaurant afloat. Employees are told to "always think of the customer". Regulars include Patrick Star, Sandy Cheeks, Larry the Lobster, Mrs. Puff, Scooter, Fred, Tom, and others.
Policies and disclaimers held by the Krusty Krab include:
- The Krusty Krab Employee Manual; Second revised edition; page 35; section 19; Clause 3A: All staff must remain on the premises until the day's receipts are fully accounted for.
- The Krusty Krab Employee Manual; Second revised edition; page 35; section 19; Clause 3B: The proprietor reserves the right to be unfair. ("Can You Spare a Dime?")
- Krusty Krab policy clearly states that once the patty has reached the customer, it is his/her responsibility. ("Born Again Krabs")
- The customer/money is always right. (Krusty Krab Training Video")
- Think of the customer.
- Money back guarantee (seen only in microscopic print). ("Pickles")
- No free napkins.
- No free refills.
- A standing fee will be given if a customer does not buy anything.
- The Krabby Patty formula is the sole property of the Krusty Krab and is only to be discussed in part or in whole with its creator, Mr. Krabs. Duplication of this formula is punishable by law. Restrictions apply, results may vary. ("Imitation Krabs")
- Everyone's money is good (an escaped convict with a sack of stolen money is shown eating a Krabby Patty). ("Bubble Buddy")
The Krusty Krab usually has standard daytime business hours. It has been shown to open around 8:00 A.M. and 9:00 A.M., and at the earliest closes at 6:00 P.M. The restaurant is usually closed on Sundays. In the episode "Graveyard Shift," Mr. Krabs declares that the Krusty Krab is now open 24 hours a day after a customer offers to eat there after the regular closing time. In "Fear of a Krabby Patty", Plankton makes the Chum Bucket open 23 hours a day, luring Mr. Krabs to open the Krusty Krab 24 hours a day and give his employees nonstop 24 hour shifts. This lasts for at least 43 days.
The Krusty Krab has only one location, but in The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie, which supposedly takes place after the series, Mr. Krabs opens the "Krusty Krab 2", which is identical to the original apart from a large "2" sign and is located directly next to it.
The Krusty Krab is rarely shown to have any significant advertising, but has on several significant occasions. In the episode "As Seen on TV", the first ever Krusty Krab commercial is produced. Squidward is the director at first, but when Mr. Krabs sees the insane production values of Squidward's commercial, he fires the crew and directs an extremely cheap and poorly made commercial using only himself, his employees and his daughter. The commercial was shown in the "prime time slot" of 3:28 AM, and featured Pearl and Squidward playing teenage girls getting their first Krabby Patty from Mr. Krabs. SpongeBob made only two partial cameos in the commercial, but was extremely excited to see himself on TV and believed that he was now a celebrity. In the commercial, the Krusty Krab's slogan is jokingly shown to be "Come spend your money here!"
In the episode "Mermaid Man vs. SpongeBob", Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy are hired to promote the restaurant, appearing in television commercials for it. Kids meals are produced featuring Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy toys. In "Bummer Vacation", SpongeBob is shown to own a Krusty Krab playset, which includes figures of SpongeBob, Patrick, Mr.Krabs and Squidward.
Mr. Krabs is always trying to find ways to get more customers, and frequently adds gimmicks to the Krusty Krab. In "Culture Shock", the Krusty Krab holds a talent show, and in "Squirrel Jokes", it is shown to have a weekly comedy show called the "Komedy Krab". In "Krabby Land", he adds an extremely cheap play area to the Krusty Krab in an attempt to exploit the unsupervised children during their summer vacation. In "Wishing You Well",he builds the "Eugene Krabs Memorial Wishing Well" and has SpongeBob stay at the bottom of the well to collect the coins thrown in by people. When SpongeBob and Patrick "find the magic" everyone's wishes come true. In the short "The Endless Summer," Mr. Krabs opens the "Krusty Pool" and attempts to exploit global warming and cause temperature to rise and create an "endless summer". In "Driven to Tears," Mr. Krabs adds a drive-through window to the Krusty Krab.
Despite the popularity of the Krabby Patty and Krusty Krab, there have been several occasions where it has had significant financial issues. In "Pretty Patties", the restaurant has gone for thirty six days without a customer, and the Krusty Krab has dust, cobwebs and even a skeleton. Mr. Krabs implements several gimmicks in an attempt to attract customers, all of which fail. This situation is worsened when SpongeBob leaves the restaurant and opens his immensely popular "Pretty Patties" stand. A similar situation occurs in "Culture Shock". Mr. Krabs holds a talent show to attract customers, which is extremely successful.
In "Pickles", after Bubble Bass makes SpongeBob lose his self-confidence, he forgets how to make a Krabby Patty and is temporarily replaced as fry cook by Squidward, who burns everything and drives away customers until SpongeBob returns. In "Best Frenemies", a "Kelp Shake" restaurant opens, stealing all of the Krusty Krab's customers. Mr. Krabs and Plankton work together against this common enemy, but are unsuccessful until the Kelp Shake restaurants are closed down after the mutations caused by the toxic drink take effect.
In "Bossy Boots", Pearl turns the Krusty Krab into the "Kuddly Krab", resulting in loss of profits. In "Banned in Bikini Bottom" Miss Gristlepuss closes down the restaurant for being "fun and delicious". In "Le Big Switch", the foreign exchange cook's poor food causes the restaurant to go bankrupt.
Employment
Other than Mr. Krabs himself, the Krusty Krab has only two full-time employees, fry cook SpongeBob SquarePants, and cashier Squidward Tentacles.
Squidward is the cashier, and stands in a boat taking orders for the entire work day. Squidward has also served as a fry cook in various episodes, including "Bubble Buddy" and "Pickles". Squidward hates his job, the Krusty Krab, Krabby Patties, and his peers at work. Despite his dissatisfaction, he makes little effort to find a different job, and has attempted to quit on only a few occasions, most notably in "Can You Spare a Dime?"
Spongebob is the fry cook of the restaurant. The Original Fry Cook, Jim, quit after Mr.Krabs refused to give him a raise. He first applied for the job in the Help Wanted, the pilot episode of the series. Mr. Krabs and Squidward, wanting no part of him, sent SpongeBob on a fool's errand. While he was gone, an enormous crowd of anchovies stormed the restaurant, nearly killing Squidward and Krabs. When SpongeBob returned, he demonstrated his superhuman fry cook skills, serving all the anchovies, saving Squidward and Krabs, and securing his job. SpongeBob has been assigned other duties in various episodes, including has janitorial duties, "co-cashier" in "The Algae's Always Greener", "Parking Lot Litter Patrol" in "SpongeBob Meets the Strangler", and "well money-retriever" in "Wishing You Well". At the end of The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie, SpongeBob is hired as the manager of the new Krusty Krab 2. According to the episode "Stanley S. SquarePants", SpongeBob's exact job title is "Vice Assitant General Manager in charge of certain things".
In various episodes, the Krusty Krab has hired additional employees. None maintain their job for more than one consecutive episode.
Patrick Star has worked at the Krusty Krab in several episodes. He was first hired at the Krusty Krab in the episode "Arrgh!," only to be immediately fired. He first properly worked at the Krusty Krab in "Big Pink Loser". In "Squilliam Returns", Patrick is assigned the role of hat-taker when Squidward takes over the restaurant to impress Squilliam. In "Bummer Vacation," he took SpongeBob's job as an unpaid intern during his forced vacation. In "That's No Lady", Patrick, disguised as "Patricia", becomes the waitress of the Krusty Krab. In "Banned in Bikini Bottom," Patrick works as the bouncer to the secret Krusty Krab. In "Pat No Pay", he is forced to work at the Krusty Krab in order to pay for the numerous Krabby Patties he has eaten and failed to pay for.
Gary the Snail served as a waiter for the secret Krusty Krab in "Banned in Bikini Bottom." He also worked as a refree when a hockey team practiced in the frozen Krusty Krab in "Krabs a la Mode." He was also the "cleaner of the ick" in Fungus Among Us.
Sandy Cheeks worked alongside SpongeBob as patty-chopper in "Karate Choppers".
Pearl Krabs worked at the Krusty Krab during her vacation in "Bossy Boots".
King Neptune became SpongeBob's "trainee" at the Krusty Krab after SpongeBob defeated him in "Neptune's Spatula".
Three teenagers were given jobs when SpongeBob and Squidward went on strike, leaving their positions available.
A short, nerdy, green fish asked for a job application in "The Graveyard Shift".
A fancy French guy came to the Krusty Krab during the exchange program in "Le Big Switch", and puts the Krusty Krab in bankruptcy due to his demands for expensive fancy stuff.
Stanley S. SquarePants temporarily took Squidward's position, but destroyed everything he came in contact with.
Mr. Krabs consistently pays his employees extremely poorly, although the exact amount varies. In "Squeaky Boots," SpongeBob's paycheck consists of an envelope of money. In "Dying for Pie," Squidward mentions that he gets paid at minimum wage. In "Bossy Boots," when Mr. Krabs attempts to get rid of all the stuff he bought for the Kuddly Krab, he sells them to SpongeBob for one years salary. This includes music, carpet, furniture, and stuffed animals. In "Skill Crane," Mr. Krabs gives SpongeBob and Squidward their paychecks, which consists of an envelope of money for SpongeBob and a huge bag of quarters for Squidward.
In "Bummer Vacation", Mr. Krabs holds up a quarter and SpongeBob says that is more than what he makes in a year. In "Squid on Strike", Mr. Krabs deducts from SpongeBob and Squidward's salary for "goofing off". In "Big Pink Loser", SpongeBob claims that he actually pays Mr. Krabs rather than being paid himself.
According to the Krusty Krab Training Video, employees work under the unfortunately named philosophy of "POOP", which stands for People Order Our Patties. The video also explains how employees are required to maintain personal hygiene, keep their work station tidy and free of droppings, and keep supplies clean and organized. Employees must also be prepared for an emergency situation and watch out for Plankton.
Competition
The Chum Bucket, owned by Sheldon J. Plankton, is the Krusty Krab's main business rival, and is located directly across the street from it. Despite this, the Chum Bucket is extremely unpopular, mainly due to its horrible chum-based products. On numerous occasions, it has been stated to have never had a single customer. However, Plankton proves a threat due to his constant attempts to steal the secret recipe of the Krabby Patty so as to reverse-engineer it to attract customers to himself. Plankton's plans range from deception and sabotage to outright hostile takeovers. However, they are always unsuccessful. In the episode "Best Frenemies", a restaurant known as "Kelpshake" opened, which sold Kelp shakes, which was just kelp juice made into a shake. The Kelpshake franchise expanded all across Bikini Bottom, stealing all of the Krusty Krab's customers until they were shut down when their products turned out to be toxic.
Changes
In several episodes, the Krusty Krab is temporarily changed or even converted into a different restaurant entirely.
In the episode "Bossy Boots," Mr. Krabs hires his daughter Pearl to work at the Krusty Krab during her vacation. With the help of SpongeBob, she changed the Krusty Krab into the "Kuddly Krab", a girly teen hangout restaurant which served only tea and salad. The restaurant featured a colorful design and featured stuffed animals and other novelty decorations. Despite its popularity among teens, the Kuddly Krab suffered an overall decline in profits and Pearl had to be fired. Pearl reveals that she has actually trying to be fired, as the job cut too much into her social life. The Krusty Krab returned to normal, and SpongeBob bought all the decorations for one year's salary.
In the episode "Squilliam Returns," Mr. Krabs let Squidward temporarily transform the Krusty Krab into a fancy 5-Star restaurant so that Squidward could impress his highly successful unibrowed rival, Squilliam Fancyson. The plan worked, until SpongeBob went insane and destroyed the retaurant.
In the episode "Le Big Switch" an French "exchange chef" from the Fancy! restaurant becomes the cook at the Krusty Krab, and the Krusty Krab is transformed into a five-star French bistro, where Mr. Krabs is ecstatic because he can sell minuscule portions for very expensive prices, including a putrid dish which can only lose its stench by shredding gold on top of it. The French chef does this, much to Mr. Krabs disapproval. Squidward is also very happy because SpongeBob became an exchange chef and went to the Fancy! restaurant where his Krabby Patties were a huge hit even though it was not the type of cuisine suited for the Fancy! restaurant. Eventually the Krusty Krab bistro goes out of business and SpongeBob brings back all the Fancy! customers, who were demanding Krabby Patties from the Krusty Krab, returning the business to normal.
In the episode "Selling Out," Mr. Krabs sells the Krusty Krab to a corporate mogul named Howard Blandy and goes into retirement. The Krusty Krab is converted into the "Krabby O' Monday's", a family diner that had a pleasant atmosphere but in reality generated synthetic Krabby Patties made of sludge by machine. When Mr. Krabs took a job there as a result of boredom, he discovers this secret and goes on a rampage, revealing it to the customers and destroying the restaurant. He then buys the destroyed Krusty Krab back from Blandy for full price.
In the episode "Krusty Towers," Mr. Krabs transforms the restaurant into the "Krusty Towers", a multi-story hotel after staying at one and witnessing the outrageous prices that hotels can charge. The Hotel is destroyed when Patrick performs a cannonball into the swimming pool in his room, causing the tower to collapse, leaving only the original Krusty Krab.
In the episode "Krabs a la Mode", the restaurant is converted into an indoor ice rink, and later a swimming pool, when Plankton's plot to turn down the thermostat and freeze the Krusty Krab backfires.
In the episode, "The Krusty Sponge," Mr. Krabs, after receiving a review praising SpongeBob, transforms the Krusty Krab into a SpongeBob-themed restaurant called "The Krusty Sponge". However, the soiled yellow "Spongy Patties" caused Mr. Krabs to be arrested. Krabs bribes the judge to excuse him by having Squidward give him rides on the train which was built around the restaurant.
In "SB-129", the Krab is shown to in some form still be in service two-thousand years into the furure. Like everything else in the future, the building is entirely plated in chrome.
Destruction and Abuse
The Krusty Krab has been destroyed in several episodes, but is always intact in its next appearance.
- In "Employee of the Month" SpongeBob and Squidward's excessively competitive battle for Employee of the Month leads to them making thousands of Krabby Patties, causing the Krusty Krab to become over-pressurised and explode.
- In "Suds", SpongeBob's massice sneeze literally blows away the restaurant.
- In "Squid on Strike", SpongeBob takes Squidward's speech literally, and "dismantles the establishment" during the night. When Mr. Krabs sees the utterly destroyed Krusty Krab, he literally falls apart and tells SpongeBob and Squidward that they will have to work forever to pay off the damages.
- In "Skill Crane", when Squidward attempts to commandeer a construction crane he reverses out of control and crashes into the Krusty Krab, destroying it.
- In "Selling Out", Mr. Krabs goes on a maniacal rampage in the "Krabby'O Mondays", clogging the synthetic patty machine and causing the restaurant explode.
- In "Krusty Towers," Patrick does a cannonball in the pool inside Squidward's hotel room and the Krusty Towers collapses, leaving only the original Krusty Krab standing.
- In "The Krusty Plate", SpongeBob puts forth immense effort to clean a smudge off of a dish, eventually resorting to a high-powered cleaning device that, at maximum power, explodes, vaporizing the Krusty Krab.
- In "Spy Buddies", Patrick is shot from a cannon in an attempt by Mr. Krabs to destroy Plankton's blimp, hitting it and causing the blimp to catch on fire and crash into the Krusty Krab.
- In "Dying for Pie" Mr. Krabs takes a piece of the bomb pie and trips while on his way to get a glass of milk. The tiny piece destroys a wall in Mr. Krabs's office, nearly killing himself and Squidward.
- In "Texas", Sandy pulls SpongeBob towards her as he attempts to open the door to the Krusty Krab, causing the entire front wall of the building to be pulled off.
- In "Slide Whistle Stooges", Squidward steals a gasoline truck and on his rampage, it runs through the Krusty Krab, destroying almost everything in there.
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