Eight hundred pounds of lasagna doesn’t happen by accident. We sit down with Joey Beyt of Joey’s, a literal Lafayette icon, to hear how a small, family-built meat market turns into what we love calling the city’s “auxiliary kitchen” a place where you can grab prime steaks, sushi-grade seafood, scratch-made soups and gumbos, and a freezer full of comfort food that saves your weeknight dinner. Joey walks us back to opening day, the early hustle, and the hands-on training that shaped his obsession with quality and consistency.

We talk about what makes Joey’s feel like five businesses inside one: a meat and seafood department, deli lunches, prepared foods, catering, plus wine and spirits. Joey shares how the menu grows over time through experimentation and customer demand, from pot pies and stuffed bell peppers to a Mexican lasagna-style casserole, plus the behind-the-scenes reality of food trends like turducken, the rising cost of shipping, and why some products disappear even when you think they’re winners.

Then the story takes a turn into local legend: the move into a building with a surprising past, a massive renovation, and the safe that still hasn’t been opened after 30 years. Along the way, we dig into what keeps a food business alive for decades: long-tenured staff, tight standards, honest feedback from customers, and a genuine love of feeding people. If you care about Lafayette food, Cajun comfort classics, catering in Acadiana, or building a small business that lasts, you’ll get plenty to take with you. Subscribe, share this with a fellow food lover, and leave us a review so more people can find the show.

The podcast was made possible through partnerships with Rouses Supermarket, Logic Refrigeration HVAC, Ounce of Hope, Cajun Table, Vermilionville, Soul Haus Kitchen, Chris Logan Media, and Sunday Soda Fountain – proving that when a community rallies around celebrating local food culture, amazing things happen. Subscribe now to join this delicious adventure and become part of the movement that's transforming Lafayette's food scene one bite at a time!

learn more: foodiesoflafayette.com

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A chef who learned by sanding beer boxes, waxing banquet-room floors, and listening to Creole cooks all day doesn’t need a flashy origin story. He needs consistency, standards, and a dining room full of regulars who keep coming back. From inside Nash’s Restaurant in Broussard, Louisiana, we sit down with Nash and Jenny Vereca to unpack how a family legacy in New Orleans becomes a long-running Acadiana favorite set in a stunning 1908 historic home that still has a few “spirit” stories floating around.

Nash walks us through his earliest lessons at Frank’s Steakhouse, why he still chases small improvements even when guests already love a dish, and how scratch cooking shapes everything from sauces to dressings. Jenny shares her own crash course in food service and logistics, from supplying offshore rigs to getting thrown into high-volume New Orleans ball catering where “make 1,500 sandwiches” is treated like a casual request. Along the way, we talk restaurant management fundamentals, hiring for personality, and building a menu that respects Italian roots while meeting Louisiana seafood expectations.

We also get honest about what longevity really costs: soft openings, marketing misfires, being on site constantly, and surviving hurricanes, oilfield downturns, COVID, and inflation without losing heart. If you care about Lafayette and Broussard restaurants, local food culture, and what real hospitality looks like when nobody is watching, this conversation delivers.
Subscribe on Apple, Spotify, and YouTube, then share this with a friend who loves a great date-night meal and leave us a review so more people can find the show.

The podcast was made possible through partnerships with Rouses Supermarket, Logic Refrigeration HVAC, Ounce of Hope, Cajun Table, Vermilionville, Soul Haus Kitchen, Chris Logan Media, and Sunday Soda Fountain – proving that when a community rallies around celebrating local food culture, amazing things happen. Subscribe now to join this delicious adventure and become part of the movement that's transforming Lafayette's food scene one bite at a time!

learn more: foodiesoflafayette.com

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Lafayette didn’t always know what pizza was, and Alesi’s Pizza helped change that. We sit down with the family behind one of the oldest Italian restaurants in Lafayette, Louisiana to follow a story that starts in Sicily, passes through Ellis Island, and lands in Acadiana in the most unexpected way: a WWII posting at an old Army air base and a chance meeting with a “little Cajun girl” at a downtown lunch counter. The result is a restaurant legacy that’s about more than food, it’s about how families put down roots and how communities adopt new traditions.

We talk about the early days when locals asked what fruit went in a “pizza pie,” and how Alesi’s eased Lafayette into Italian food by starting with diner staples and slowly clipping on the Italian menu. You’ll hear why the pizza became the anchor, why fresh dough and fresh sauce still happen daily, and how a simple crust-and-sauce combo can outlast every trend. Along the way, we get into the Johnson Street move, the iconic neon sign, the mid-century feel, and the behind-the-counter moments like learning to toss dough and earning your way up through the unglamorous jobs.

The conversation also gets real about the restaurant business today: the nights, weekends, holidays, and the feeling of never being fully off. With Alesi’s nearing 70 years, we discuss why selling the business is on the table as an option, what kind of reaction that sparked across Lafayette, and the advice they’d give anyone dreaming of opening a restaurant in Cajun country. If you care about Lafayette food culture, family-owned restaurants, and the history behind the best pizza in Lafayette, this one’s for you.

Subscribe on Apple, Spotify, and YouTube, then share the episode with a friend and leave a review so more people can find the stories behind our local legends.

The podcast was made possible through partnerships with Rouses Supermarket, Logic Refrigeration HVAC, Ounce of Hope, Cajun Table, Vermilionville, Soul Haus Kitchen, Chris Logan Media, and Sunday Soda Fountain – proving that when a community rallies around celebrating local food culture, amazing things happen. Subscribe now to join this delicious adventure and become part of the movement that's transforming Lafayette's food scene one bite at a time!

learn more: foodiesoflafayette.com

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