We all know that North Louisiana is packed with great local restaurants, but what goes on behind the scenes? From bakeries to wine bars, we found six restaurants owned by women of North Louisiana. We asked them everything from where they found the inspiration to open their own business to what their favorite items on the menu are. Every restaurant has a story and every story starts with a dream, so check out these Louisiana ladies and their local restaurants to find some great food and great stories.
Lacy Galligan
Another Broken Egg
Chicken Salad Chick
Each year we would visit Destin for family vacation and I would insist on dining at my favorite place, Another Broken Egg. My Dad had always been in business for himself and had inspired me to do so. I was constantly looking for new business ventures and so we decided that we wanted to open Another Broken Egg. My brother Ray has his degree in business from Louisiana Tech. We recruited him to help open and operate the restaurant. We are from Leesville, Louisiana, and needed a larger city to open Another Broken Egg. With both Ray and myself graduating from Louisiana Tech we were very familiar with Shreveport and knew it was the perfect fit. We felt Shreveport needed an upscale breakfast- brunch-lunch concept that served exceptional food and signature cocktails. So we uprooted our entire family to Shreveport to pursue our Another Broken Egg dream. It was a huge risk, but the folks in Shreveport took us in like family, and we’ve been serving the area for seven years.
Summer 2016 I ran across some chatter about Chicken Salad Chick on social media. My brother and I are chicken salad fanatics; so, I had to find out more about this concept. My whole family drove to the closest Chicken Salad Chick in Lafayette. We tried everything on the menu; we were in love! We knew immediately that this concept had to be in Shreveport, not only for the people of Shreveport but for us too We literally craved the food since we left that Lafayette that summer day until we opened our doors in May 2017.
Serving quality food brings joy to others, and that is why I feel so lucky to do what we do. It’s amazing what a good meal means to people. It can turn their whole day around. You must bring your a game every day while running a restaurant, and sometimes that is a challenge. The service industry is a team effort. This team effort requires everyone, every day, to be at their best. We are all human, and it is tough to be always be one-hundred percent, but our team is amazing and we give it our all.
To anyone who wants to go after a dream, do not be afraid to fail! It’s worth the possibility of failure to not wonder your whole life what could have been. The real failure is not falling short of your goal, but never trying to reach it. Eighty percent of restaurants fail; we are very blessed to have two concepts that are NOT in this category and continue to gain the love and support of our amazing guests.
Come see us at Another Broken Egg and try my personal savory favorite, Black Bean Benedict, or for a sweet tooth our Lemon Blueberry goat cheese pancakes are oh so good!
Also, if you have not been by Chicken Salad Chick, The Chick- Olivia’s Old South – try it. It’s the deviled egg of Chicken Salad!!! Someone take the cracker away; I can’t stop, and you won’t be able to either.
Kim Hand
Buttercups
When I was pregnant with my daughter (Annabelle) I had a major sweet tooth. I was at home one day watching Barefoot Contessa on Food Network. She was making the most decadent looking chocolate chip cookies. I went to my kitchen and whipped up a batch using her recipe. They were amazing! At that moment I realized how much yummier baked treats are made from scratch verses packaged or box mix. I quickly became obsessed with baking all things sweet, cookies, cupcakes, cakes. I was equally obsessed with developing my own recipes and learning the science of baking.
At the time, I was working as a makeup artist for Lancome cosmetics. I would take my cupcake experiments to work to give to my friends and coworkers. Their feedback is ultimately how I tweaked my recipes and developed what we use in the kitchen at Buttercups today. Cupcake orders started pouring in! I found myself staying up all night baking just to fulfill orders. I made the decision to leave my day job to pursue baking. After a couple years of supplying cupcakes for local cafes, I made the choice to open Buttercups. We opened in 2009, and after being open for about a year I received a call from Food Network inviting us to come to Los Angeles to film an episode of Cupcake Wars. It was such a great experience.
Over the years we have added new items to our menu, like cake pops, French macarons, and now cakes! When I decided to start making cakes, I enrolled in the Peggy Porschen Academy in London. Peggy Porschen is an award winning British cake designer and author. She has the cutest cake parlor in London and I learned so much from her. Back in the states I worked on my own cake recipe until I found the perfect taste and look. My team of bakers and I started working on the decoration styles we wanted to offer and in November of 2016 we launched our cakes. We have received an overwhelming response to them. We are so happy that so many people order our cakes and cupcakes for special celebrations in their life.
It is crazy to look back on how this all came to be. I now have a team of 11 employees, who are all such hard workers and dedicated to excellent quality. It takes a lot of work to produce the volume we do and we are always focused on consistency in our quality of treats as well as excellent customer service. We will be celebrating our 8th anniversary in November. We always do a big giveaway on our anniversary. Be sure to follow us on Facebook and Instagram for a giveaway announcement and daily photos of our sweet treats made from scratch with love.
TinaMarie Palmisano
Cloud 9 Cafe
The inspiration behind my café was simple. I walked into the always nostalgic Shreveport Downtown Airport. The door was opened for me, I walked in, and that was all it took. I say that my spirit was waiting here for me to arrive! As someone who had worked fine dining with my husband at Ernest’s Orleans Restaurant for ten years and then worked on my own food truck (Jester’s) for over five years, I was totally against brick and mortar. This vintage little café took me back to the sweetest time and place in my mind, and I wanted to share its love with everyone else!
I feel that what sets me apart from the rest is my spontaneous creativity. I am a dreamer and a visionary. I love to make people feel and see what I do. It can really be felt in every dish that is prepared by me.
My menu is inspired by the love that I have for the unity of people as one. You can find a hint of different international fares and flavors. It can be experienced with the deliciousness of many of my foods from the French seafood crepes and bananas foster crepes, to the “Cuban” sandwich, to the perfected Acadiana style cooking which is known as Cajun to most! My specialties include my “Famous” Hot Tamale Tina brand tamales that I have turned into quite the gourmet challenge preparing beef, pork, sweet potato with praline sauce, chicken chilies, and cheddar, and super cheesy black bean tamales for the vegetarian at heart, to name a few!
My motivation to continue with the future of Cloud 9 Café is because I want to show others that it’s possible to live outside of the box to the fullest with business and cuisine, yet still possess the old-fashioned courtesy and respect for customers. Our customers are considered our guests as if they were guests in our own home. Around here, everyone gets a warm and a welcoming Cloud 9 kind of hug to brighten their day!
Jodie Morphew
and Olivia Stinson
Crumbs
Chef Jodie Morphew graduated from Louisiana Tech then moved to Pittsburgh, PA. She graduated from the Art Institute of Pittsburgh with a degree in culinary arts. Her first working experience was at the Duquesne Club, a private and upscale society club in downtown Pittsburgh. After spending two years away in the cold northeast, she returned home to Ruston where, alongside award winning Chef Nick Oskian and Chef Corey Bahr, she smartened her craft. At home, she is a wife to Reece Morphew and mother to her two-year-old daughter, Heidi, and her baby girl, Nora, who is coming September of 2017.
Olivia Stinson had a love of baking from an early age when watching her great grandmother and mother in the kitchen. She studied business at Louisiana Tech University, so soon after she decided to turn her passion in to career. She managed a bakery in her early years of cooking professionally. In this time, she developed her baking and cake decorating skills. She had a desire to learn more culinary techniques. She joined the team at Restaurant Cotton where she worked hand in hand with Chef Cassie Kacvinsky and helped produced all desserts for Chef Corey Bahr’s culinary ventures. Other than cooking, Olivia’s other passion is her son, seven-year-old son Dawson, and her finance, Zack Garner.
Crumbs Catering was conceived in November of 2014 when these women saw a need for an upscale catering business in their hometown of Ruston, Louisiana. With the help of their families and extended families, the dream became a reality. Crumbs is a true labor of love and a true family business. Often, the ladies solicit there sisters, husbands and parents to do a variety of tasks; anything from waiting tables to washing dishes. No better “help” than your own family!
Being a chef-based catering company allows Crumbs to truly customize a menu for each customer’s needs. The Crumbs’ chefs have a true love of cooking and thrive on becoming part of your family when helping you plan your event. The satisfaction that comes from seeing a happy bride on her wedding day, or the sight of relief of the nervous dinner party hostess, is unmeasurable.
Crumbs understands that nothing is more personal than what you serve your family and guest. Corporate events, private home soirees, and all events in between are never too big or too small for our services. It is our strict attention to every detail and high quality standards that ensure your event will be a success. Crumbs prides itself in a vast menu offering from traditional fares to more contemporary services.
Crumbs offers both savory and sweet creations, party rentals, wait and bar staff, cooking classes and children’s birthday parties.
Virginia Calhoun
We Olive
“I want to be a business owner.” This thought first came to mind as I was walking around a gift shop in my hometown of Shreveport, Louisiana, as a teenager. Something about the organization and structure of how the business was run really appealed to me. My dream of business ownership rubbed off on my husband, Kevin, and also became his dream. We had the opportunity to open the business in other cities, but we wanted to open our business in our home of Shreveport. And I couldn’t be more thrilled to be living out my dream among family and friends!
The dream became a reality… June 24th, 2017. The opening day of We Olive had a wonderful turnout and business has continued to flourish. We receive a lot of positive feedback, and many guests claim this is the business for which Shreveport has been waiting. My hope is that We Olive becomes somewhere people can try new things. It is our goal for each customer to get the ultimate olive oil experience along with warm Southern charm! I want customers to leave being educated about the products we offer and how to use those products to enrich their family’s mealtimes. Often, guests will share how much our relaxing and friendly environment in our elegantly casual wine bar serves as an escape from their busy schedule.
When it comes to the oils themselves, I have oh so many favorites which range from the Tuscan, Sonoma Smoked and Jalapeno olive oil to the Pineapple, Peach White and Blood Orange Vinegars! I love to use our extra virgin olive oils for Italian dishes and robust veggies. My husband loves the Sonoma Smoked gold medal winning olive oil; it adds a unique smoky flavor to options such as tuna steak salad or mac n’ cheese. We also like to drizzle Jalapeno Olive Oil on top of simple side dishes like broccoli, black-eyed peas, potatoes, and spinach to add that Cajun spice. Finally, the unforgettable product I love to share with our guests is the Blood Orange Olive Oil. I look forward to seeing that intriguing look in guest eyes after one taste of a brownie made with the Blood Orange Olive Oil. It’s a must try!
As you can see, We Olive offers so many delicious options that enable you to explore a variety of ways to enhance your dishes. There are so many great quality products, so why limit yourself to just one or two favorites? One of the most underestimated items on the menu is one of my favorites, the Charcuterie Plate. It’s full of delicious meats and served with Gambino’s bread from New Orleans brushed with our Garlic Olive Oil. It pairs well with a glass of our Rabble Tempranillo or LaStoria Zinfandel. The most popular item on our menu seems to be the Barbeque Chicken Flatbread, which is full of flavor and only a hint of barbeque sauce. It has our red onions which are pickled in our Peach White Balsamic Vinegar, cilantro, and finished with Jalapeno Olive Oil. This dish pairs well with our Y Rousseau Rose.
We’ve only been open a few months, and it’s off to a great start! Don’t get me wrong; it is HARD WORK! Many people don’t get to live out their dreams, so I’m enjoying every moment! Come in and try our products to see for yourself what We Olive is all about. I look forward to seeing you soon!