HOUMA, La. — "It's Family Cafe" just opened in Houma this month, but it already seems to be a second home for a crowd of repeat customers that keep the place buzzing.
Owner Ron Hadley says it's been an overwhelming response.
"I'm excited. I'm elated, and I'm uh...what's the word I want to use... I would like to use the word blessed," says Hadley.
Hadley has been waking up as early as 3 a.m. to be ready for customers to pour in at 10:30 in the morning, and a look at what's on the menu explains all the hype. Seafood stuffed Bell peppers are the number one seller. They were sold out of all 150 for the day by noon.
"We have baked chicken, that was something I did for people not too big on the spices. We have barbeque ribs this morning which we are out of presently. We have the fried fish and fried shrimp," says Hadley.
"We also have the seafood fettuccine which is my second best-seller. We can't keep enough of that. We prepared like seven pans this morning. Baked spaghetti is out. We had shrimp fried rice and rice dressing, and we have our third best seller which is the bacon cheddar potatoes," continues Hadley.
At a time when many businesses are closing because of the pandemic, Ron got the idea to start selling his food because he needed a new source of income.
"I'm a musician. I've been a musician for my entire life, so with the churches closing, and things of that nature, I had to create another form of income for my family. I love cooking. I love family, so what I did was I decided to follow my passion," explains Hadley.
And Hadley's passion for cooking came from that love for family
"When I was 16, my mom had a stroke ,and she was paralyzed for a minute...not forever. She's a whole lot better. I took on the responsibility of the family to start helping cook because my dad worked." explains Hadley.
When customers walk into "It's Family Cafe," Hadley and his staff say, "Welcome Home," because he knows good food makes people feel like they are home.
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