(Updated with menu) Bayou Lucy’s plans to open no later than Wednesday
Photo courtesy of Yolanda Jimenez
Update: Bayou Lucy’s is open. Here is Bayou Lucy’s Menu.
Bayou Lucy’s should be serving Cajun and Creole dishes by Wednesday morning, according to owner Yolonda Jimenez.
Jimenez operated Bayou Cafe in Rocky Mount, which she closed (she told food writer Lindsey Nair she closed because of problems with the building).
She is opening the new restaurant in Roanoke on Brandon Avenue across from Towers Shopping Center where Big Lick BBQ (which was formerly Henry’s Memphis BBQ) closed earlier this year.
As Lindsey reported in September, Bayou Lucy’s will serve gumbo, jambalaya, oyster po’ boys, shrimp po’ boys, crawfish po’ boys, red beans and rice and court bouillon, a rich red wine gravy fortified with seafood and served over rice. She will also make her signature cornbread.
Jimenez has been working through several issues to get the restaurant open, most recently problems getting a sign installed, but she vowed that the wait would be worth it.
“I want to serve you guys good food,” she said.
The restaurant should be open for breakfast on Wednesday.
If you stop by this week let us know what you think!
November 5, 2012 - 12:00 PM
can’t wait!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
too bad she’s not open at 4:30 a.m. when I could get breakfast!!
I wish them well, but that location as been a bad luck location for everything else that has went it….. And I’m not to trilled with the seafood heavt menu… I hate seafood, and the only items you mentioned that are not seafood is cornbread and beans,,, That won’t exactly keep me coming back for seconds.
No links to their menu available? I saw some items mentioned, but a web presence, just for general info like location & menu listing with prices is almost de rigeur these days. I don’t think I want gumbo for breakfast, do they have Cajun items for breakfast or just Southern style breakfasts, or what? A little more info would be beneficial.
Tony the Weenie Stand should be open soon. Between that and McDonalds you should find something you like.
@crooked road: I spoke with Yolanda again today and she said they do not have a menu online. She did promise to send me a copy of the menu, so I’ll see what I can do about posting it here. As far as breakfast, she said the restaurant will open at 9:30 a.m. and serve brunch. Cheesy grits and chicken and waffles were two of the meals she said would be available for brunch.
It’s great to see new restaurants coming to the area, but why oh why can’t we have just one vegetarian restaurant?
Chad, there’s Veggies to Go in Salem, and Wildflour Cafe at Towers has a vegetarian menu. I’m sure there are others.
“I hate seafood”
Life without seafood? I’d find a tall building. Looking forward to trying the gumbo!
Veggiestogo is wonderful! All the vegetarian options you could want and great gluten free options too! I wish bayou the best of luck!
local roots has veggie options!!
It’s a Cajun restaurant. If you don’t like seafood, don’t go. They’re not going to offer meatloaf. I can’t wait to try this new place out!
I can’t see an entirely vegetarian restaurant making it here, but most places have meatless options on the menu.
Tony, we are talking about cajun cuisine here, and the place is called “Bayou Lucy’s”. Doesn’t really surprise me that the menu is “seafood heavy”… you might want to look at a map of New Orleans sometime.
I am looking forward to it. I just hope the oversaturation in this area doens’t consume them. I live close by and right now I could eat out every night and not repeat restaurants for almost 2 weeks. That is just between Towers and Wasena. I do wish them well and look forward to trying Bayou Lucy’s.
@crooked road: I’ve updated this post with a link to the menu.
If they have a good source for seafood,it should be good. Did Lucy say where her’s will come from?
I have to agree with Chad -wish there were more vegetarian options around here, especially options that are dairy free. I am disappointed to read that red beans and rice is the only veggie option.
It seems like people are forgetting that this is a Cajun themed restaurant. It’s not a vegetarian themed or vegan themed restaurant. Maybe folks need to review what Cajun food encompasses and what it doesn’t encompass.
I know this will alienate some, but it seems like it needs to be said. There aren’t a lot of vegetarian or vegan restaurants because of the overwhelming lack of customer demand for those kind of restaurants.
Almost all restaurants smartly include vegetarian choices in their menus. To expect particularly themed restaurants to include a wide variety of vegetarian choices that don’t align with their theme is pretty naive. One of the primary staples of Cajun cuisine is red beans & rice on Mondays – a vegetarian dish. So the complaints that it’s not ‘the right type of vegetarian’ seem self-absorbed.
Visit the restaurant, with an open mind. Odds are, if you maintain an open mind, you’ll enjoy it.
To all you people who wish a Cajun restaurant (a) served less seafood or (b) was vegetarian: Get a life! Cajun food IS heavy on seafood and non-vegetarian.
It’s now Thursday–are they open yet?
I think a lot of you are missing my point of “vegetarian options around here” meaning in the Roanoke area, not just at this new place. I was hoping for some veggie gumbo or jambalaya as well as the red beans and rice. Vegetarian food is in more demand than many of you may realize. Unfortunately this area is not catching up to this trend as fast as other areas of this nation. It would certainly be nice to go out to eat and be able to choose from more than one or two options on any given menu. Firefly Fare in the market buikding is nice, but still only a few options. Wildflour has many veggie options, but most are dairy-laden. That is not an option for everyone as many people are lactose intolerant. Isaacs is certainly missed. Looking forward to moving to a larger metropolitan area next year!!!
The looked to be open when I drove by on my way into work Thursday.
Still lacked signage but the Open sign was blinking. Hope the lack of signs is the only reason there were next to no cars in the parking lot.
@David F. and Mike D – Bayou Lucy’s opened Wednesday.
Thanks Amanda for keeping us updated! I checked out the menu and it looks good, will head there and try it soon! I’ve been to The Quarter a couple of times and have had some good food, it’ll be interesting to compare them w/ this new place! To address some of the talk about vegetarian options: My mom is vegetarian and is the easiest to please vegetarian I’ve ever been around! However, she’s always happy when she finds something different when we go out. Veggies to Go in Salem is an AWESOME restaurant! My comment on them is “your Granny cooked this food!” It’s not all vegetarian but has very little meat on the menu. True home cooked veggies, including some standard southern items prepared w/ a twist. Wonderful salads, hummus wrap, the list goes on. Another Salem place w/ some nice/different veggie options is Cafe X-Press near the Hammerhead Hardware store. Everything is good there and you will not find any nicer people than the folks who run it!!
Shrimp po boy was WAY over cooked! Service was very slow. Don’t think they will make it
I have to wonder why some are so insistent that restaurants tailor their menu to such self absorbed options as vegetarian jambalaya that would appeal to about 2% of the market base, and then complain when restaurants fail financially.
It would make far more sense to expect to go to a vegan restaurant wanting your Paleo Diet choice to be catered to, because you just want to eat Paleo at a vegan place.
crook road, you don’t don’t know “beans,” when it comes to consumer demand for vegan dining options in this market.
Vegans and non-vegans all over the country clamour to wonderful, totally vegan cafes, fast-food places, and gracious sit-down restaurants. (For example, see: http://www.nativefoods.com/menu/; http://www.veggiegrill.com/menu.html;http://stickyfingersbakery.com/;http://;
http://www.sublimerestaurant.com/). It’s not uncommon to need reservations at the sit-down restaurants, or, wait on long lines at the casual places.
There’s absolutely no reason to project failure upon any business person who dares to present a menu that deviates from the standard Roanoke regional fare of, “Same Old, Same Old, Same Old”– with gravy.
Those in the food-service/hospitality industry know that, when dining out, a vegan and/or vegetarian in the dining party leads the decision making, when selecting the venue. So, wake up and smell the VERY hungry vegans, Roanoke!
I stopped by the place thursday evening after shopping at Kroger funny I was thinkin’ going to Popeyes lol for their Crawfish basket (4.99) with fries and best fast food biscuit known to man. I bought an Oyster Po’Boy — a must have for New Orleans type food and side of Jambalaya. Since I have visited NOLA so many times pre Katrina yrs in 1990′s would be hard to compare. I was disappointed big on the Oyster Po’Boy very tiny oysters well what u except since we are far from coast unlike Louisiana and really overpriced (13.00?) The jambalaya side however was really good
but need more spice for me lol so I added little more creole seasoning in it (Tony Charcres’ original) I tend to use this as replacement for salt most everything great on fries. I shall go there again soon to try either crawfish Etouffee, Red Beans and Rice or seafood gumbo next time. glad to have another Cajun/Creole choice here besides The Quarter downtown haven’t been there yet but heard really good and to some extent Popeyes..
on side note staff really friendly and one worker apparently knew me by name since I work at the Salem (near Lewis-Gale) one.
meant Kroger..
Went to Bayou Lucy’s Saturday night and it was fantastic. The staff was very attentive and Lucy herself made us feel right at home. The alligator appetizer with bites and sausage was perfectly seasoned. The Wham Bam entree had the best piece of fried fish I have ever had on top and the etouffee underneath had a great seafood flavor. The cornbread is more like dessert, and I don’t generally like sweet cornbread, but Lucy’s is delicious. I will definitely be going back for more. I’ve been to the Quarter on several occasions and never been impressed with the food.
I think the biggest issue with those who are complaining about the lack of vegetarian options in a major metropolitan area like Roanoke is that Roanoke is NOT a major metropolitan area.
Furthermore, as has been pointed out repeatedly, expecting a vegetarian version of traditional cajun dishes is like expecting vegetarian chicken at KFC. If any restaurant makes a vegetarian version of anything, they ALSO have to make the “regular” version, thereby doubling the time, effort, and cost of just one dish. Even if they did, people would complain that they only offered a veggie version of that one dish. It also might knock a completely different dish off the menu, causing complaints about a “limited menu”. Vegetarian cuisine is all over Roanoke… just look for the sign that says Kroger and go make it for yourself at home.
We here… we eat meat… GET USED TO IT!!!
@John W: Thanks for your review. I was talking with the owner today about the restaurant’s hours and she mentioned that she saw your comment. She wanted me let you know that she was unhappy with the oysters, too, and is getting larger oysters in from a different company.
Hope they get their signs soon. Hard to tell they are open without them.
Maybe a temporary sigh out front?
Haven’t seen many cars in the lot on my way to work. I’m sure the signs are not helping.
I have eaten at Bayou Lucy’s twice now. The sausage gator bites are really good. I was disappointed with the Red Beans and Rice. The dish was served lukewarm at best and was not seasoned very well. 10.95 is a bit steep for the serving size. Went back and had the Shrimp Po Boy. It was filled with nice sized shrimp and had a really good flavor. The fries were hot and seasoned just right. I will go back and give them another chance. Would love to see a local cajun place do well. And also the cornbread is fantastic!
@Mike D: I was there on Tuesday and I am pretty sure I saw a “Now Open” sign hanging outside.
The need something out at the road is what I’m getting at. I saw the lighted “Open” sign in the window. Just barely. The front of the building has been in full sun each time I pass and that sign is hard to see. Just an idea since they have been reading this blog. With the empty signs frames it looks like a place that has not opened yet. I do wish they make it here. The empty parking lot is not a good start.
LOL… If I had a nickel for every business that had an “OPEN” sign in their window 24/7, even one that lights up and could be turned off… I’d be able to open my OWN business. I guess I should be surprised at how many employees/owners overlook that… but I’m not.
Have to agree with comment #24 – shrimp were way overcooked – and not deveined (yech!). Will not be going back.
She has outdoor signs up now. Looks very festive.
I haven’t been here yet and will be limited in what I can eat because of gluten, but let’s remember in these days of instant information that any restaurant that’s just opened is going to have some shakedown problems. Will have to try it soon.
BayouLucy’s is great! She already has standing room crowds. We were there Sunday late brunch and she needs to open the back room. Service was overwhelming. Counseled her at SCORE, John Hunter (857-2834, Thursdays)
Overwhelmed or overwhelming? And what is SCORE, John Hunter?
@Kristen: I know you directed that question at John, but I had the same question so I called him this morning. SCORE is the Service Corps of Retired Executives. They offer business counseling. And John said the service at Lucy’s was great.
Interesting…thank you Amanda. I’m glad the service was great! SCORE sounds interesting…I wonder how many start ups around here know about their services.
Went there on a moderately busy evening. Slow service, no utensils for our table or several others. Salad not served for 40 minutes, only served when asked for it. Other tables came in 30-35 minutes AFTER ours and were served meals 10-15 minutes before ours. Food was decent but dishes (party of 5) were lukewarm at best. I hope others have a better experience than we did.
“I wonder how many start ups around here know about their services.”
Mission accomplished, John. Now let me take this opportunity to tell everyone about services I can provide for a nominal fee….
So we drove by there on the way home from the theatre Saturday night, and some poor soul was parked in front of the building trying to read the sign on the door and figure out why it wasn’t open on a Saturday night.
went there to eat and get some gumbo. was the worst i have ever had and the cost is very high for what you get.
worst i ever had and very costly for what you get.
I’m looking forward to my visit tomorrow night!