Today we’d like to introduce you to Ann Keady.
Ann, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I loved watching the Great Food Truck Race on TV and one day we said “Dallas really needs a Cajun food truck”. Within 4 months of that sentence, we were rolling the streets. My husband thought I was joking when I said that is what I wanted to do full time… he isn’t now. 😉 What we missed the most about LSU and Louisiana is the food and the people. We both loved the tailgating before the LSU games and so our business became called Cajun Tailgators.
Once in Dallas we found ourselves missing the true home cooked Cajun food of south Louisiana. We were always looking for a reason to have people over for a crawfish boil, fish fry or gumbo and it was always very well received by our guests. With the lack of Cajun food options in the Metroplex we decided to give it a shot.
I have a LOVE for Cajun food. I was born and raised in Kingwood, Texas and received my degree from LSU. Then after I graduated from college I moved to Dallas and I missed all the great food that is a part of Louisiana. My husband and I met at LSU during Orientation a few months before the start of our freshman year. We are HUGE LSU football fans and travel back for several games a year. The games are great but it is the tailgating that really keeps us coming back. There is nothing better than spending the day with old and new friends and some of the best cuisine around. We want to bring the authentic Cajun food back to Dallas with us and what a better way than on a food truck!
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The food truck took off better and faster than we could keep up with. Our first day open in 2012 we were live on Channel 8. It was 24 degrees that February day at 5:30 AM and we had a line at our food truck.
In 2014, we opened a tiny restaurant in downtown Plano and outgrew it in a couple of weeks. We made it work for two years and won Best Cajun Food in Plano each year we were there. We closed that location June of last year.
We got a call from the leasing company saying that they think we would be a great fit for the new renovated Dallas Farmers Market location. We built our space out and opened January 2016!
We are currently looking for a location in either Frisco, McKinney or Prosper.
Cajun Tailgators – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
We specialize in made from scratch- southern, old school cooking. Our most popular dish is a Crawfish Pistolette. Was on the Dallas Must Eat Food list ranked #28/100!
I am most proud because we built a business with a need. Dallas needed a restaurant for the Louisiana transplants to get a taste of home. This is the food that I missed from Louisiana. We make all the food with love.
Contact Info:
- Address: 920 S. Harwood, Suite 136
Dallas, TX 75201 - Website: www.cajuntailgators.com
- Phone: 469-304-0313
- Email: cajuntailgators@yahoo.com
- Instagram: Cajun Tailgators
- Facebook: CajunTailgatorsCafes
- Twitter: Cajun Tailgators
- Yelp: Cajun Tailgators
Image Credit:
Plano Magazine
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