When Kim and Ken Jahns opened Hook’d in Cedar Park in the end of October, they said their goal was to offer a family-friendly place where locals could have easy access to their favorite crawfish.

“During crawfish season, we were always sitting out on a deck in the nice weather, drinking a beer and eating crawfish,” Ken said. “[We] started talking about how something like that would be great in the middle of Cedar Park.”

Hook’d opened at its Cedar Park location on Lakeline Boulevard in October.[/caption]

The restaurant offers its patrons a mixture of Cajun and seafood cuisine in its centralized location.

“It’s in the hub of the original Central Park, and we love that,” Kim said. “And it’s just a need we thought our little community needed.”

The Jahns said the growing number of customers recently caused them to add staff and expand the outdoor patio seating. The two also own Sidelines Sports Grille in Cedar Park, and they said the community response to Hook’d has them considering opening a second location sometime in the next year.

Menu items include alligator, shrimp, salmon, tilapia and oysters as well as crawfish etouffee, boudin balls, gumbo, pastas, salads and burgers. The menu also includes entrees for children, from chicken tenders to cheese flatbread, and desserts. 

Besides crawfish, the Jahns said the most popular item is shrimp and grits with blackened shrimp, white cheddar grits, a Cajun cream sauce and asparagus ($14).

Except for fries and hush puppies, Kim said all the food is homemade. She said the recipes come from her and the Hook’d chefs as well as community input.

Owners Ken and Kim Jahns also own Sidelines Sports Grille in Cedar Park.[/caption]

“Before we put anything on the menu, I’ll pass out samples to customers and get their feedback,” she said. “And we have people bring us stuff from Louisiana to try. We get a lot of help from people in the community.”

Kim said she believes customers appreciate the personal touch that comes from having family involved with the restaurant. Her parents are part-owners of Hook’d, and their children also work at the restaurant.

“It’s a lot of work, but it’s also a lot of fun,” Ken said. “It makes you feel good when you have people coming in saying the food’s great and they appreciate you being there.”