The Krusty Krab has gone through many big changes throughout SpongeBob SquarePants, and it hasn’t always been a restaurant – here’s how it has changed business. Created by Stephen Hillenburg, SpongeBob SquarePants premiered on Nickelodeon in 1999 and has since become one of the longest-running American animated series as well as the most successful Nicktoon, and it shows no signs of stopping soon.

SpongeBob SquarePants follows the daily adventures of the title character alongside his closest friends – such as Patrick Star and Sandy Cheeks – and a couple of enemies in the underwater city of Bikini Bottom. SpongeBob is best known in town for being the fry cook at the fast-food restaurant The Krusty Krab, home of the Krabby Patty, and as such he has developed a close bond with his boss, Mr. Krabs, and his coworker and neighbor Squidward Tentacles, much to the dismay of the latter. The Krusty Krab, then, has become an important setting in SpongeBob SquarePants, and just like many other spots in Bikini Bottom, it has gone through significant changes over the course of the series.

Related: SpongeBob SquarePants: Every Character Who Worked At The Krusty Krab

Not only does the Krusty Krab have various secret passages and rooms that appear and disappear between episodes, but it has also been changed into different restaurants and other businesses for different reasons, but it always goes back to being the one and only place where you can get a Krabby Patty. Here are all 10 times the Krusty Krab has changed business in SpongeBob SquarePants.

The Kuddly Krab

Kuddly Krab Squidward

SpongeBob SquarePants season 2 saw the first big change to the Krusty Krab in the episode “Bossy Boots”. In it, Mr. Krabs informed the crew that his daughter, Pearl, would be working at the restaurant for the summer and she had a lot of new and fresh ideas to improve the place. Pearl ended up changing everything, and the Krusty Krab changed its name to The Kuddly Krab. Pearl also gave her employees flamboyant uniforms and changed the menu so they only served salad and tea. The restaurant also changed its look on the outside and inside as well: outside, the clamshell sign of the Krusty Krab was replaced with a heart with green writing on it and a blue crab waving, and the place was painted pink, while on the inside it had a lot of stuffed animals everywhere.

Although The Kuddly Krab was a hit with teenagers, the place was losing money, and Pearl revealed she didn’t even want to take the job and had been trying to get fired from the beginning. Pearl ultimately left and the Krusty Krab went back to its normal, no-uniforms no-salads style.

5-Star Restaurant Krusty Krab

Squilliam Returns

In season 3’s episode “Squilliam Returns”, the Krusty Krab went through last-minute changes in order to help Squidward give a good impression. One day, Squidward came across his rival, Squilliam Fancyson, and told him he had his own five-star restaurant, with Squilliam telling him he and his friends would come to the restaurant that night. Panicking, Squidward begged Mr. Krabs to let him take over the Krusty Krab for the day and agreed, as Squilliam is rich. After failing to crash-train the crew so they could turn the Krusty Krab into an expensive restaurant, SpongeBob took over as he cleared his mind of “everything that doesn’t have to do with fine dining and breathing”. SpongeBob turned the place into a very fancy five-star restaurant and gave an excellent service that surprised Squilliam, but when he asked for SpongeBob’s name, as he couldn’t find it in his brain because he got rid of it, he destroyed the place.

Related: All 3 Times SpongeBob SquarePants Has Been Fired From The Krusty Krab

Krabby O’Monday’s

SpongeBob SquarePants Krabby OMondays

SpongeBob SquarePants season 4 episode “Selling Out” saw Mr. Krabs retiring and leaving the Krusty Krab under new management. The place was then transformed into the Krabby O’Monday’s, a franchise restaurant with automatic registers, a large TV with a sports channel, and the “food” was a gray, sloppy material that they disguised as food. The Krabby O’Monday’s came to an end when Mr. Krabs showed the customers what the food was made of, and retook ownership of the place.

Krusty Towers

SpongeBob SquarePants Krusty Bucket

Season 4 saw another change to the Krusty Krab, but this one was an extreme makeover. In the episode “Krusty Towers”, Mr. Krabs turned the place into a hotel named Krusty Towers, with the original building on top of the large tower. The reason behind this change was that Mr. Krabs was on vacation and was shocked to see how much hotels make. Mr. Krabs made it a rule for customers to book a room so they could buy food, and employees had to do whatever the customer asked for. This led Squidward to return as a guest and make a lot of ridiculous requests, but it all got out of hand and the hotel collapsed, with only the original Krusty Krab intact.

Krusty Krab French Bistro

The Krusty Krab in Spongebob Squarepants

“Squilliam Returns” wasn’t the only time the Krusty Krab became a fancy restaurant, and it happened again in season 5’s episode “Le Big Switch”. In it, Mr. Krabs entered SpongeBob in a chef exchange program, and so SpongeBob was sent to work at Fancy!, while the head chef of this place, Le Schnook, was sent to the Krusty Krab. Once there, Le Schnook made very expensive demands as he refused to work in the poor conditions the Krusty Krab was in, and so the restaurant became a five-star French bistro. Although Mr. Krabs was ok with that at the beginning, as he could serve small portions of food for high prices, that led the place to bankruptcy. However, it went back to normal when SpongeBob returned, and as the Krabby Patties he served at Fancy! were a big hit, all the customers arrived at the Krusty Krab.

Indoor Ice Rink & Swimming Pool

SpongeBob SquarePants Squidward Krusty Krab

In season 5’s episode “Krabs à la Mode”, Plankton was responsible for the Krusty Krab becoming an ice rink and a swimming pool. First, Plankton messed with the Krusty Krab’s thermostat, leaving the place all frozen, so Mr. Krabs turned it into an ice rink in order to not lose any money, and SpongeBob turned Krabby Patties into Patty Skates. This inspired Mr. Krabs to make a big change to the restaurant the following summer, and turned it into a public swimming pool, while Plankton remained trapped in an ice cube.

Related: SpongeBob SquarePants: Why Plankton Is Scared Of Pearl (It's A Plot Hole)

Krusty Sponge

The Krusty Sponge

Also in season 5, the Krusty Krab turned into The Krusty Sponge in the episode of the same name. In it, after getting a review that destroyed the restaurant but praised SpongeBob and the Krabby Patty, Mr. Krabs turned the place into The Krusty Sponge, a SpongeBob-themed restaurant. The place had Squidward in a SpongeBob costume and served all types of SpongeBob-related items, including the Spongy Patties, which were tainted Krabby Patties made to look like SpongeBob. The new burgers made everyone sick and turned them yellow with green spots, and Mr. Krabs was arrested for poisoning his customers.

Krusty Krab Museum

SpongeBob SquarePants Krusty Krab Museum

In season 9’s episode “Goodbye, Krabby Patty?” things got complicated when Mr. Krabs decided to launch a line of frozen Krabby Patties. First, a huge factory was built right behind the restaurant (and used sand as “filler” for the patties), and the Krusty Krab was turned into a museum that documented the history of the Krusty Krab. SpongeBob, then, was fired from his fry cook job and hired as a tour guide at the museum. Of course, this didn’t end well, and the Krusty Krab eventually went back to normal, with fresh Krabby Patties.

Krusty Krab Prison

Krusty Krab prison

SpongeBob SquarePants season 12 saw another big change to the Krusty Krab in the episode “The Krusty Slammer”, and once again rooted in the rivalry between Mr. Krabs and Plankton. After Plankton was arrested for vandalizing the Krusty Krab, the officer realized there wasn’t room for him and wished there was another prison, so Mr. Krabs soon offered to turn the restaurant into one so Plankton wouldn’t be set free. The prisoners ended up enjoying many luxuries thanks to SpongeBob, and after learning this, Mr. Krabs released them all so he wouldn’t have to deal with them anymore. Mr. Krabs was later arrested for releasing the prisoners, but as the Krusty Krab prison was full, he was sent to the one built in the Chum Bucket, so he couldn’t enjoy all the luxuries given by SpongeBob.

Krusty Bucket

SpongeBob SquarePants The Krusty Bucket

Also in season 12, this time in the episode “The Krusty Bucket”, the Krusty Krab was changed but this time into a different restaurant. In it, Plankton created a hybrid of himself and Mr. Krabs named PlanKrab, who had his own plans to steal the secret formula of the Krabby Patty. PlanKrab combined the Chum Bucket and the Krusty Krab to create the Krusty Bucket, and after many failed attempts to defeat him, Mr. Krabs and Plankton applied for manager jobs, but PlanKrab made them managers of the restrooms. After Plankton and Mr. Krabs got into a fight, PlanKrab got so angry he split into two, and both parts were later tricked into shaking hands, which caused them to melt, and so the Chum Bucket and the Krusty Krab went back to normal.

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