Captain's Lady Cafe
If you would’ve asked my mom two months ago if she was going to own her own restaurant, she would’ve laughed and called you crazy. Yet here she is, the Captain’s Lady Cafe a month old, serving New Orleans style food, as well as just simple down home cooking.
In February, my mom and step-dad noticed a little cafe style restaurant for sale. They laughingly tossed around the idea of buying it and opening up a permanent place, in addition to using their trailer on the weekends. A week goes by, and the price of the place drops even further, a price that made their far-fetched joke a reality.
Using the help of her husband’s family to paint and slightly remodel the place, along with the help of Kurt to design the menu, in less than 3 weeks they were ready to open their new business endeavor. On March 8th, 2012, Captain’s Lady Cafe was open for business.
My mom was optimistic about business, but not overly so. She knew it would take some time to gather a fan-base; therefore, she was amazed at the turnout the first week. She was slammed! Her cafe is surrounded by businesses, who all order gobs of sandwiches for lunch. She has a different daily special everyday, which often sells out before the day’s end. She has a to-go window, where people can call in orders ahead of time and pick it up without even leaving their cars, as well as order through the window. There are picnic tables and umbrellas outside, as well as four small tables inside.
It’s a cozy, friendly place with down home cooking, influenced by New Orleans. The daily specials range from red beans and rice, to chicken and sausage gumbo, to shrimp étouffée. The snoballs are New Orleans style, thinly shaved snow ice, using a block of ice and a three blade system that has it coming out as soft as snow. My grandma bakes some of her goodies and has them for sale on the counter. Robbie’s Bread Pudding is absolutely divine, literally some of the best bread pudding I’ve ever tasted. In addition, she makes homemade iced tea (sweet and unsweet) and homemade lemonade. There’s even art along the wall for sale by local artists (including my sister, Dina!).
In all, everything I have eaten here has been delicious. The prices are incredibly reasonable, the service is super friendly, and the atmosphere is cozy and comforting. If you love delicious home cooking, I highly suggest coming to Captain’s Lady Cafe. I couldn’t be more proud of my mom!
