The full-service restaurant Bayou Easton, which offers "a fresh take on classic New Orleans cooking," will permanently close on September 1. This downtown Easton restaurant, which has been in existence for seven years, will close.
Renovated from its former home as the Valenca restaurant, the Bayou Easton opened in 2017 with a full bar and two private party areas. The eatery is a branch of the popular Bayou: Southern Kitchen & Bar, which debuted on Bethlehem's Hawthorne Road in 2014. According to Taylor, the eatery in Bethlehem will carry on with business as usual.
Together with a new food trailer, the Bayou Boys Hospitality Group, which is made up of Taylor and his partners Cristian Duarte, Jerry Straub, and Matt Weaver, also runs the fast-casual cheesesteak restaurant Wiz Kidz at two locations: on East Elizabeth Avenue in Bethlehem and Freemansburg Avenue in Bethlehem Township. "Our goal is to slightly streamline our operations and concentrate on The Bayou Bethlehem, Wiz Kidz, and our expanding pierogi business," stated Taylor. "The past seven years at Easton have been fantastic. Not only did we pour our souls into it, but so did our personnel. But regrettably, it is drawing to a close.
At a factory located on Union Boulevard in Allentown, the group also produces and markets its own pierogies under the Bayou Boys Pierogies brand. The partners had previously owned and operated two other full-service restaurants in Allentown's downtown: Grain, which closed in 2018 after operating for over three years, and Queen City BBQ, which closed in 2020 after operating for slightly over three years. Taylor stated, "We are looking to perhaps open another Wiz Kidz facility."
"It is not official yet, but it would be a takeaway and delivery place in Allentown, in the same facility where we make our pierogies. We are addressing it. Known for its distinctive “blend of traditional Southern flavors and modern American cooking,” The Bayou offers a variety of shareables like fried green tomatoes, collard greens, hush puppies, mac and cheese, and fried green tomatoes; entrees like blackened salmon, barbecue shrimp and grits, jambalaya, and chicken and waffles; and handhelds like a Southern Burger, Nashville fried chicken sandwich, and various po boys (shrimp, brisket, or catfish).
According to Taylor, the Easton location will take part in the 10th annual Clam Jam street festival on August 25 and will probably have some goodbye events and specials in the weeks preceding its last day. Bayou Easton's Facebook and Instagram sites would provide information. Taylor remarked, "We really appreciate all of our consumer support over the last seven years." We are grateful for the opportunity to serve the lovely community of Easton. We appreciate the great service that our staff has worked so hard to deliver. We are sharing this news with a mixture of thankfulness and grief.
According to Taylor, the partners are searching for "another fantastic operator" for the downtown Easton space in collaboration with The Bayou Easton's landlord. For additional information, restaurateurs can get in touch with The Bayou Easton.