New Orleans favorite expands; restaurant opens in Houma

March 26
March 26, 2008
Howard Edward Green
March 28, 2008
March 26
March 26, 2008
Howard Edward Green
March 28, 2008

Houma residents will no longer have to travel to New Orleans for the famous New Orleans Hamburger and Seafood Company’s one-handed Barbecue Shrimp poboy.


For more than 25 years, the restaurant has served the New Orleans area for lunch and dinner with its diverse menu of signature hamburgers and New Orleans seafood. Now, it’s right here in Houma on West Park Avenue.


The 3,000-square-foot restaurant opened shortly after Mardi Gras in late February, marking the company’s first expansion outside the New Orleans area in 17 years.

Six years ago, the New Orleans partners Sander Weiner, Norris Gremillion, Gary Weiner and Paul McGoey made a commitment to expand.


“We felt it was time to evolve and change,” he said. “We were looking at adding one to two stores each year in thriving markets in and out of Louisiana.”


However, the 2005 hurricanes derailed those plans. Instead of settling into Houma or other surrounding areas, the owners were forced to rebuild its roots, the two stores in Metairie, and the first New Orleans Hamburger and Seafood Co. in Jefferson Parish on Clearview Parkway.

“Pre-storm, we had more than 150 workers. Post-storm, we were down to 14,” McGoey said. “The storms really hurt us in terms of manpower because we lost so many of our workers who had to move to other places because they lost everything. But we’ve gotten a chance attract some really good workers in the past two years.”


Once the rebuilding efforts were complete, the owners went back to the original plan – to expand.


“We knew our new location had to be at least 45 minutes in driving distance from our other three locations, which is either Laplace, Houma, Thibodaux, Gonzales or Mandeville,” McGoey said. “Either market would have been fine, but we chose Houma because of three things.”

First, Houma is underserved by New Orleans-style restaurants, he said. Second, it’s steadily growing and, third, it’s an exciting place to be that’s family friendly, all according to McGoey.


“For years, people in Houma drove to New Orleans over the Huey P. Long Bridge,” he said. “Well, we sit right off of the bridge in Jefferson. People from this area were familiar with us. New Orleans and Houma have a lot of similarities.”

According to McGoey, both cities share the same advertising markets.

Despite the common factors, the owners still felt they had to prove the restaurant was worth trying in this market. But McGoey feels that there are enough residents in Houma to make the transition easy.

“People from Houma like us. We are not the new kid on the block to them; we’ve been around for a long tim and have made an impact in New Orleans,” he said. “We hope to do the same here.”

McGoey admits he is facing his fair share of competition: Copeland’s Seafood Restaurant of New Orleans, Appleby’s, Chili’s and a number of other dining spots.

“I think we compete with everybody because people eat out more, and they choose a restaurant for fast casual dining,” he said. “We offer them what they want and how they want it. But it really doesn’t matter where they go. We’ll get our turn eventually because once you’ve made a decision to eat out then that’s what you’re going to do.”

The restaurant has a diverse menu. The name reads New Orleans Hamburger and Seafood Co., but McGoey said it’s so much more.

“We have some great hamburgers, seafood, entrees, sandwiches and salads, and don’t forget the one-handed poboy,” he said.

In the past few weeks, Houma residents have responded quite nicely, McGoey said. On any given day the place is filled for lunch and dinner, he noted.

A Laplace location is scheduled for opening this summer and a third restaurant before year’s end.

New Orleans Hamburger & Seafood Co. opened on West Park Avenue in Houma earlier this year. * Photo by SOPHIA RUFFIN