Source:
lubbockonline.com
The Lost Cajun has found its way to Lubbock.
The Colorado-based Cajun and Creole restaurant recently announced its latest location at 6810 Milwaukee Ave., in the new Shoppes on Milwaukee center. A third McAlister’s Deli is planned for the opposite end of the center. Glory Nails and Spa was the first tenant to open last month.
The Lost Cajun is expected to open in the spring, said founder and CEO of the brand Raymond Griffin.
Griffin said he is ecstatic to enter the Lubbock market, an area he has hoped to open in for a while, but was waiting for the right franchisee and location.
Barry Kruger, who Griffin said has years of restaurant experience and is also opening Lost Cajun locations in San Antonio, is an excited new franchisee for the brand and will own the Lubbock location. Griffin said his friends at Southwest Restaurants, who own the local McAlister’s, told him Milwaukee Avenue was one of the “hottest locations in Texas.” The timing was right, Griffin said.
The Lost Cajun currently has franchised locations in nearby Midland and Odessa, and another location is scheduled to open in Amarillo in January. The brand has quickly expanded in its seven years of business, Griffin said, with almost 20 locations open or in the works.
Griffin described his restaurants as family friendly. He said when kids walk through the door, they are given Mardi Gras beads and a piece of chalk to use on the concrete floors, “releasing the beasts,” as Griffin said. Servers are trained to work around kids drawing.
“We give mom and dad a little break,” Griffin said. “It’s not the traditional restaurant where children come in and have to put their hands in their laps. They get to have fun.”
Franchisees are also required to be involved in their communities, Griffin said.
“You get involved with that community, then that community will take ownership and call it their restaurant,” Griffin said. “We call it our cult. We have a cult following everywhere we are.”
Having good food helps that following as well, Griffin said. The Lost Cajun menu includes a variety of gumbo, po’boys and seafood dishes. The restaurant is known for its beignets, Griffin said, which can be ordered in traditional and bite sizes. But Griffin wants customers to think of The Lost Cajun as more than just a place to eat.
“We want you to have the best experience when you come in there, every single time, to where the dining experience is more than just stuffing food in your mouth,” Griffin said.
The Lost Cajun is the second Cajun restaurant to announce a Lubbock opening for 2018. Razzoo’s is expected to open at 4805 S. Loop 289 in the summer.
