BEDFORD, Texas — The Cajun Market, the Colleyville restaurant that closed in October due to the "pandemic and the current economy," reopened under a new brand just in time for Mardi Gras celebrations.
"You’re not coming into my restaurant, you’re coming into my house," owner Phil Tullis said. "That’s how I want you to feel."
WFAA first told you about The Cajun Market in February 2021 when they donated hot meals to Ellery Arbor Memory Care when the facility had no power, heat or hot water.
But then, a little over two years after Tullis and his wife, Deborah, opened the Colleyville restaurant, the couple closed its doors, citing the economy and the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We want to be transparent. We want people to know the struggles we've been through because if we all help one another, we all succeed,” Tullis told WFAA in October. “That's the bottom line.”
Enter Dirk Kelcher, a “regular” at The Cajun Market before it closed.
“I’ve always loved Cajun food,” Kelcher said. “We have family friends that were from Louisiana growing up and they would always do crawfish boils in their backyard. And ever since I was probably 8 years old or so, I fell in love with crawfish and Cajun food."
Kelcher and his brother are behind Kelcher Entertainment Group and own 12 bars and restaurants, including two locations of Bourbon Street Bar & Grill in Bedford and The Colony.
“We found out pretty quick that we didn’t have the culinary side that we really needed,” Kelcher said.
So when Kelcher heard about The Cajun Market closing, he gave Tullis a call.
“What I didn’t have, they had,” Tullis said of Bourbon Street Bar & Grill’s bar, restaurant space and parking.
“He had what I don’t have, which was the food side and the authentic Cajun food, which he was already well known for,” Kelcher said.
The newly branded Cajun Market at Bourbon Street was born.
“We’ve definitely got the right partnership together now,” Kelcher said. “I think we’ve got everything together to make this a home run.”
Two Louisiana restaurants teaming up to succeed in North Texas: Now that’s something to celebrate.
“They can expect the old Cajun Market,” Tullis said. “Cajun and Mardi Gras, it’s not just the food. It’s the culture. And the culture’s all about fun and food.”