The Bayou Country Cafe celebrated its grand re-opening recently in Houma, Louisiana. First opened in 1982, the newly renovated cafe is more spacious and has modern amenities as well as more parking for customers and a consolidated cafeteria area that serves both restaurant visitors and TARC clients. The restaurant is run by TARC who creates jobs for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and provides community day services, residential services, and transportation services in Terrebonne Parish.
The cafe offers authentic, southern style Cajun food such a po’ boys, jambalaya, gumbo and fresh baked pastries. The Country Cafe is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner and has become popular with locals and tourists, not just for the food, but for the jobs it offers workers with special needs so they can earn a living wage. The light, airy ambiance makes guests feel relaxed and comfortable.
The restaurant’s seating area has an open design that makes it feel fresh and clean. The walls, ceiling and flooring are bathed in earth tone colors such as light beige. The rustic interior design has wood paneling on the walls and large, vertical windows let in plenty of natural light. Adding to the pastoral, country feel, recessed lighting is housed in wood paneling on the ceiling which adds a touch of modern fashion. The walls are decorated with classic art and there is also bar seating for customers who want to eat at the counter next to a small, rural style country store which offers fresh baked goods, chocolates and preserves among other things.
For the dining area, they purchased elongated vertical slat metal chairs with buckskin vinyl seats and black frame. The buckskin seats fit in perfectly with the rustic decor and the black frame finish provides a nice contrast to the light walls and flooring. The straight, vertical lines of the metal chairs also played well of the slats in the wood ceiling panels. It was also important for the cafe to have comfortable, yet reliable seating that would last a long time, and the metal frame chairs were a smart choice.
To go with the chairs they chose reclaimed look laminate table tops and steel X prong table bases in black, powder coat finish. The reclaimed look laminate table tops provide the finishing touch for the cafe’s rural look. The table tops have a slightly distressed appearance, which goes hand in hand with southern style and comes off looking natural, like solid wood. The advantage with the laminate is that it is scratch and stain resistant, making it a strong, durable surface that looks great and is easy to clean.
For bar seating, matching elongated vertical slat bar stools, also with black frames and buckskin vinyl seats were added. The buskin complements the bar’s wood paneling and the overall country look. They also give the cafe a complete look when combined with the elongated vertical slat chairs. Having matching seating helps create a smooth flow which is important in establishing a cohesive interior design style.
