Étouffée, gumbo and jambalaya are returning to Hot Springs as Cajun Boilers set an Oct. 3 grand opening date under new ownership. After almost exactly a year of being closed for renovations, the beloved restaurant will feature a new look and authentic Southern Louisiana grub. And as the French say, “C’est si bon – It’s so good.”
New owner Gabe Galster and his family are taking on the venture to keep the treasured restaurant, 2806 Albert Pike Rd., alive and restore some of its reputation lost to time.
Galster is originally from Pine Bluff and would visit the establishment as a child when visiting Hot Springs on family trips. He hadn’t eaten at Cajun Boilers since he was a teenager but moved to Hot Springs 11 years ago. He watched it deteriorate as he made his daily commute.
“It haunted me,” Galster said of the building that was in “slow decline” when he purchased it last year.
A friend informed him that the property was for sale by then-owner Romaine Guillroy. Upon purchase, Guillroy agreed to stay on while the family learned the ropes. Galster’s son Noah, who is set to become the general manager in September, worked under Guillroy’s instruction for about eight weeks, joined in the kitchen by Gabe for the last month before closing for renovations.
“We kind of got a decent feel of what it was behind the scenes,” Galster said. “And what we wanted to hang onto as part of that legacy, what we wanted to revitalize that I remembered as a kid and then also what we wanted to bring in from our heritage.”
For the new owners, it’s about more than bringing back a childhood memory; it’s about sharing their heritage with the community. Galster’s family hails from South Louisiana, and his wife’s Cajun family operates one of the largest crawfish farms there.
“Her great uncle actually invented modern crawfish farming,” Galster said. “And my side of the family is New Orleans-based.”
In addition to owning Hot Springs Marina, the Galsters have operated an off-shore charter fishing company for 23 years out of Venice, Louisiana. Growing up in Cajun country, the young couple met at the age of 15. Galster, whose family is more familiar with the completely separate Louisiana French Creole cooking style, learned to cook and boil the Cajun way from his mother-in-law.
“We’re going to be blending a little bit of that because that’s how our family is,” Galster said. “A combination of the Louisiana heritage that we have, our desire to serve people, our love of food and culture and the opportunity to be on the same lake that our marina’s on in the town that we love, it just felt right. It felt like it was kind of laid out before us to take the reins and see what we could make of this restaurant and this property.”
Working in construction for many years, Galster said the project has been “the most difficult, frustrating” remodel he’s ever experienced, taking about five months longer than expected. The team completely gutted the inside, basically keeping the footprint of the building alone, and they have plans to make the space more open to the waterfront. They attempted to preserve what they could of the “old soul” of the building while making necessary upgrades for safety and making the business more fun for families.
The total project will cost about $1.5 million upon completion plus the startup capital to get the 39-year-old restaurant back up and going. Some of the past crew members will be rejoining the staff, including one of the line cooks, some wait staff, hostesses, and a dishwasher and his brother.
A 100% family-operated business, Galster’s wife and two sons, along with their fiancées, will all pitch in to see the business get off the ground – as they’ve done with previous ventures such as the marina. In the initial period of the restaurant, Galster will work in the kitchen. The family has also brought on a local kitchen manager with a long career in the industry, who comes from a line of restaurateurs.
“When we purchase a new endeavor, we’re all involved,” Galster said.
He said the support from the community has blown them away. But, with limited restaurant experience during his college years, Galster and his family still have a lot to learn. He’s thankful for the month he got to spend working at Cajun Boilers before shutting the place down for the restoration work as well as his experience cooking for large family gatherings, saying they “might as well be a catering service.”
“We’re having to fill some pretty big expectations, some big shoes that Mr. Romaine had,” he said.
In the weeks leading up to the opening, when the kitchen is ready, he plans to refine some of the recipes and get into the swing of cooking at such a volume. The family plans to keep some of the most popular dishes the restaurant was known for while pushing the menu more in the direction of traditional Cajun fare.
“You’re not coming to Cajun Boilers and getting pizza, in other words,” Galster said. “You’re going to get some spice in your life, too. We’re going to be serving food that we aren’t afraid to serve our Cajun relatives when they come up. That’s the barometer that we’re judging everything by.”
Some of his favorites include the gumbo, which will be a traditional homemade Cajun gumbo with no pre-mixed ingredients. Also from the same base, there will be a seafood gumbo available. An homage to his upbringing in New Orleans, one dish is inspired by the famous BBQ Shrimp originating from Pascal’s Manale on Napoleon Street.
“It’s not a barbecue like we think of barbecue,” Galster said. “But, it’s a real rich buttery-based sauce on shrimp, and I do a shrimp and cheese grit topped with that shrimp and that sauce. I get hungry every time I think about it.”
Other favorites include the boiled options and blackened fish all Cajun/New Orleans food fans love. Using fresh ingredients sourced from family farms in Louisiana, the crawfish will come straight from Galster’s inlaws on the crawfish farm.
“We are not importing any of our proteins,” Galster said. “They are all south of I-10, and we’re proud to be doing that. That’s really the key to good dishes, is good ingredients.”
He said everything from the brown shrimp to the catfish and the oysters is coming from areas that the family is familiar with and people that they’ve gotten to know. In the future, they hope to introduce sausages and boudins as well as novelty sausages like crawfish sausage.
Galster said the family has more plans for the property apart from the restaurant, calling it a “multi-year project.”
The family appreciates the support they have received and is committed to sticking around for the long haul, but asks for patience during the first months of business. Certain that the eatery will be very busy for the initial period, Galster asks that guests keep in mind that there will be a lot of learning and growth in the beginning and that they aim to provide the best experience possible, but that there will be more opportunities to visit the legendary restaurant whenever they are better adjusted.
For more information, visit Cajun Boilers’ website at www.cajunboilers.com or their Facebook page.
Editor’s Note: This article has been updated to reflect the change of the opening date.
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