With twenty-six years of hospitality experience between them, in the fall of 2018 Candace Cooper and Jacob Sonnier decided it was time to make the move and open their own restaurant.
“The concept was a simple one,” Sonnier said. “Get back to why we go out to eat.”
Their restaurant, The Point Seafood and Steakhouse, opened last spring in Broussard with an oyster bar and grill, a commitment to serving only domestic seafood, a full-service bar with a lively craft cocktail scene, a bustling kitchen and a lovely dining room with striking whitewashed floors and tables covered in white linen. The elegant space with a coastal vibe is offset by the warm, personable service provided by a well-trained staff drawn by the restaurateurs’ commitment to creating a quality work culture for their employees.
Sonnier shared the company’s mission statement in both French and English:
On veut fêter notre culture parmi notre famille, nos amis, et surtout notre communauté aussi bien que l’on veuille mettre en avance tout ce que l’industrie devrait essayer d’atteindre — l’hospitalité et la bienveillance. (We want to celebrate our culture with our family, our friends, and especially our community as well as wanting to highlight everything that the industry should strive for — hospitality and good will).
“We want you to feel special, important, but most of all celebrated,” Sonnier said. “Oftentimes we feel like the industry forgot why we go to eat out with our families and friends. The food is always an important element to having a successful restaurant, but what distinguishes us from a corporate chain or any other is that we genuinely care about our guests. It’s this drive to please our patrons that spurs on our unique dishes, cocktails and personalized service; that leads to the celebration of food and drink, culture and connection.
“Take a bite from a Boudin Quesadilla, or a sip of the Jolene [cocktail]: We want you to be taken back to a time with family and Steen’s-[Cane Syrup] covered biscuits, or a night out at an elegant bar meeting new friends.”
Cooper, an award-winning bar master, mans the bar and oversees the front of the house while Sonnier plays a double roll straddling both the dining room and the kitchen he co-chefs with Marshall Harrison, Sydney Beck, Marshall Harrison and Reginald Charles Jr. The size of the kitchen staff and the years of experience they bring to their craft allows them to elevate old classics while creating new ones.
Weekly specials include 12-ounce ribeyes with grilled shrimp and a side for $17.99 and $4 glasses of Coastal Vines wine on Thursdays. Taco Tuesdays bring $10 taco platters and two-for-one margaritas.
BONUS BITE Avec Bacon, Paul Ayo’s personal experiment in all things bacon, is now featuring a new creation, boudin baconon the menu. Get it on a biscuit for $5.95 or indulge in a sandwich with pepper jack cheese and fig pepper jelly for $9.95. Avec Bacon Cafe, 4807 Johnston St. Suite L, Lafayette, 337-789-6121, avecbacon.com
MENU
Try this
❶ Point Platter
Crab claws, catfish, oysters, crawfish tails, and shrimp all grilled or fried to your liking: Cornmeal crusted and deep fried or tossed in seasoned flour then fried. Served with two sides.
❷ Crab Cakes
Two bread crumb-crusted deep-fried crab cakes featuring jumbo lump, regular white lump and crab claw meat served with the creamy house sauce
❸ Boudin Quesadilla
A flour tortilla filled with pepper jack cheese and Billeaud’s boudin then grilled to a golden brown, so the boudin gets melty, then drizzled with house pepper jelly and served with a side of Steen’s Cane Syrup.
❹ The Jolene Cocktail
In 2017 bar master Candace Cooper took the title of People’s Choice Champion in “The Clash of the Cocktails” competition with this signature drink, a take on a mint julep with the addition of strawberry, inspired by Dolly Parton.
The Point Seafood and Steakhouse / 811 Albertsons Parkway Suite o., Broussard, 337-330-2026.
