Topsail Steamer opens at Brennan Station in north Raleigh

The seafood steam pot brand Topsail Steamer opened its store at Brennan Station in north Raleigh on Saturday, October 17, 2026. The shop is at 8111 Creedmoor Road, Suite 167, in the shopping center at the corner of Creedmoor and Strickland roads, and it sells packed pots of seafood and sides that customers take home and steam themselves.

The grand opening ran from noon to 7 p.m., according to The Triangle Tribune. The first 25 customers received a free one-pound shrimp add-on with a purchase, and guests could enter through a QR code for a chance to win one Bay Bucket a month for 12 months.

The store has no dine-in seating. WRAL described it as “a take-home and steam concept.” Customers choose a signature Bay Bucket or build their own, pick it up and cook it at home. The brand’s location list names one store in Raleigh, this one, and shows it taking online orders for local pickup.

Sisters own the Raleigh franchise

Paige Rogalski and Renée Moore, who are sisters, own the Raleigh store as franchisees, according to the brand’s Raleigh page. The Triangle Tribune described both as longtime Triangle-area real estate professionals and entrepreneurs, and reported that they found Topsail Steamer on family vacations in Topsail Beach and Surf City. A May 12, 2026, report on the Business Debut site said the sisters grew up in their family’s restaurant business in Naperville, Illinois.

“We loved Topsail Steamer as customers long before we ever imagined owning one,” Moore said in the Tribune’s report.

The 1,300-square-foot space was previously a Pizza Hut, The News & Observer reported on October 13, 2026. It sits between Brigs Great Beginnings and El Dorado Mexican Restaurant, a few doors from Trader Joe’s.

What the Bay Buckets hold and cost

Each pot comes raw and packed for steaming. The News & Observer reported that cooking takes 30 to 40 minutes and that the food is poured out onto brown paper sent with the order. Bay Buckets were priced from $35 to $259 at opening, according to the N&O. The brand’s menu says totals can change with market prices, and it lists sea scallops, lobster tails and oysters at market price.

The menu lists eight signature buckets, including these:

• The Low Country Shrimp has peel-and-eat shrimp, andouille sausage, sweet corn, red bliss potatoes and homemade seafood seasoning.
• The Topsail Clam Bake adds littleneck clams, kielbasa and onion to shrimp, corn and potatoes.
• The Crabby Jimbo pairs snow crab with peel-and-eat shrimp, corn and potatoes.
• The Full Steamer has snow crab, shrimp, littleneck clams and andouille sausage.
• The Shark Bite has shrimp, snow crab, cold water lobster tails, large sea scallops, two sausages and clams.
• The Miss Emily II has cold water lobster tails, snow crab, littleneck clams, shrimp and andouille sausage.

The Captain Pierce and The Wrightsville fill out the list, both with snow crab, sea scallops, shrimp and clams. The signature pots come with cocktail sauce and butter. For a build-your-own bucket, the smaller Low-Tider size serves two to three people, with portions such as 1 pound of shrimp, half a pound of snow crab or a dozen littleneck clams, and the larger High-Tider doubles them. Customers pick from four seasonings: Classic, Cajun, Jimmy’s Way, which mixes the two, and an herb blend of lemon, thyme and basil.

Larger orders and extras include these:

• Party Pots feed 20 to 30 people, need one to two days’ notice and start at about $20 per person, according to the brand’s Raleigh page.
• Party Pots are pickup only, while Bay Buckets can also ship nationwide.
• Add-ons include key lime pie, lemon blueberry pie, plain cornbread and jalapeño cheddar cornbread.
• The store also sells seasoning jars, crab-cracking tools and seafood by the pound, the N&O reported.

The store’s phone number is (919) 322-2825. As of October 29, 2026, the brand’s Raleigh page did not list regular hours or closed days.

From Surf City to Shark Tank

Founder Danielle Mahon, a former biotech sales professional, got the idea on a 2016 trip to the Outer Banks, the trade outlet SeafoodSource reported. She opened the first Topsail Steamer in Surf City in 2017. Mahon grew up in South Jersey and moved to North Carolina in 2003, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported.

The company joined the Goldbelly shipping marketplace in March 2020, and weekly orders grew from 25 to 400 buckets during the pandemic, according to SeafoodSource. Mahon pitched the business on ABC’s “Shark Tank” in an episode that aired October 25, 2024. She asked for $350,000 for 8% and left with a deal for $350,000 for an 18% stake from Lori Greiner and guest shark Todd Graves, WWAY reported.

The brand now lists 12 stores in five states. North Carolina has four: Topsail Island, Wrightsville Beach, Charlotte and Raleigh. The Charlotte store at Parktowne Village, owned by Greg and Sara Zanitsch, was announced in July 2024. Four New Jersey stores and the Bethany Beach, Delaware, store were closed for the season as of October 29, 2026, according to the brand’s site. Its franchise page lists a $45,000 franchise fee and a total investment of $242,013 to $398,850.