A new restaurant named after the crawfish capital of the world will be opening soon in Columbus.
According to a press release sent on behalf of the restaurant, the eatery — named Breaux Bridge — will fuse Cajun and Asian food. The menu will include Cajun staples such as seafood gumbo and po’boys, with some unique additions, including crawfish fried rice, said neonFROG marketing agent Karen Stanley.
“In 1959, the Louisiana Legislature named the town of Breaux Bridge, Louisiana, the crawfish capital of the world,” Mark Castleberry, restaurant co-owner, said in the press release. “While we will be serving menu items other than crawfish, we felt this name embodied the story we wanted for our restaurant as we pay homage to a place with a rich Cajun history and ‘bridge’ the Asian cooking style used in preparing some of the dishes.”
The interior of the restaurant was designed by Penny Bowen of Columbus.
“We’ve worked with local artists and artists down in the New Orleans area,” Stanley said. “There are a lot of bright colors. It has very much an eclectic, Cajun feel.”
Castleberry co-owns Breaux Bridge with Billy Wang, owner of Umi restaurants in Columbus and Starkville.
The Dispatch previously reported that Castleberry, through his company Waca LLC, purchased the Breaux Bridge property at 1207 Highway 45 next to Motel 6 on Jan. 22. The building has been vacant since Chili’s restaurant closed there in July 2016.
A sign for Breaux Bridge was erected outside the restaurant Tuesday morning, according to a post on Breaux Bridge’s Facebook page, but no opening date has been announced.
“The inside is fully set. It’s just getting the fine details together,” Stanley said. “When we open the doors, we want to have everything as perfect as possible.”
Castleberry previously expected the restaurant to open its doors “in May or June,” according to a Feb. 16 report by The Dispatch. Stanley said contracting issues have delayed the opening, but she expects Breaux Bridge will be ready to accept customers — for what she calls a “messy, fun eating experience” — by the end of the summer.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 36 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.