JEANERETTE, La. — The historic Yellow Bowl Restaurant in Jeanerette is now closed.
Established in 1927, the local staple has served Cajun cuisine and seafood for 96 years, but had to close due to overwhelming repair and maintenance issues, inflation, and labor shortages, according to the owner. The restaurant was initially scheduled to close on Sunday but had to serve its last customers Thursday night after running out of food.
"Tomorrow ain't promised to nobody, I hate to see it go," said Kevin Sabine, a dishwasher at Yellow Bowl for the last 22 years. Now without a job, he told KATC he will be relying on disability checks to get by. "I mean it's getting busy now, but when we was open it was slow. I hate to see this place go, they were like a home to me."
Now, customers of the eatery are sharing their memories of the local spot.
"It's very hard on me, I'm gonna be sad, pretty sad that it's closing," said 12-year-old Braxton Derouen, who lives nearby and mentioned working odd jobs for the establishment over the last few years. "I used to spend all my time over here and they were like family to me and my family."
The owner says the restaurant will be up for sale soon, as she is currently working with a realtor and appraiser to fine-tune the future listing's details. Many told KATC they hope someone will eventually buy the place and bring it back to its former glory.
"The food is delicious, the people is like family for everybody, all the customers," said Larry Morales, a former employee. "They treated everybody with respect and did everything they could for them, dealing with food and everything else."
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