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September 20, 2017OUR VIEW: Recreation is everyone’s business
September 20, 2017
A restaurant on Bayou Lafourche is putting a Cajun twist on Italian classics.
Papa Greaux’s Cajun Pizza in Larose has been serving up specialty pizzas with fresh ingredients since June of last year. The restaurant focuses on combining quality meals with top notch service to feed south Lafourche.
Wayne Cheramie, owner and operator of Papa Greaux’s, started his business after spending years working in local industry. Cheramie worked on supply boats for his whole life until a health issue got in the way of license renewal. After five years at the South Lafourche Leonard Miller Jr. Airport, Cheramie decided to venture into the food business.
“I partially work for myself so now I’ll work for myself forever now, and I opened my restaurant,” Cheramie said.
Cheramie said he bought the store property from the previous owner and also got some pizza lessons from him. He then took a few more lessons with pizza joints in Houma before setting up his own menu at Papa Greaux’s.
“I learned how to cook offshore, and I cooked for the local fairs and weddings. It’s something I like to do, and I said well, guess I’m going to do it for a living instead of doing it for free,” Cheramie said.
Papa Greaux’s offers sandwiches and other items, but the true crowd pleasers are the specialty items they can’t get anywhere else. Cheramie said those pizzas help his restaurant stick out when he has to compete with the likes of national pizza chains. Cheramie said he offers a variety of pies, including seafood, muffuletta and even roast beef po-boy pizzas. Papa Greaux’s also uses no frozen foods in their dishes, with fresh produce ensuring high quality. The specialty pizza idea came to the Papa Greaux’s owner one day as he was making sandwiches.
“We tried doing sandwiches, and I said you know what? I’m going to throw all this stuff we put on a sandwich on a pizza and see how it comes out. And that’s a big timer there,” Cheramie said.
The restaurant has continued to stay steady, even in light of the oil and gas slowdown’s drag on the overall economy. Cheramie said he continues to steadily grow his business, recently adding a number of arcade games for children to play. The restaurant has also hosts birthday parties and a local computer game club meeting every Friday.
Papa Greaux’s is open from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m. and then 5-9 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. Cheramie said he will consider opening throughout the whole week if business really picks up. Papa Greaux’s delivers from Valentine to Golden Meadow. You can reach the restaurant at 985-798-7499.
