“We’re from Jennings, outside of Lafayette. Lafayette is Cajun country; New Orleans is not,” Hoyt said. “Everything we do is roux based; people from Louisiana know that.”
Before opening MudBugs, Hoyt hauled sacks of live crawfish from his family’s crawfish farms in Louisiana. Once in Texas, he would sell the crawfish to individuals and restaurants. However, the seasonality of that job left him finding odd jobs the remainder of the year.
After doing that for a couple of years, the couple decided something had to change. They met with Hoyt’s cousin, who owns two restaurants in Louisiana, and fostered an idea for their own restaurant.
Their menu is full of family recipes, and their crawfish comes from Hoyt’s family farms. Milly Mo’s Etouffee is Hoyt’s mom’s recipe and named after her. Dawn’s grandmother’s recipes for bread pudding, and shrimp and corn chowder have been real crowd pleasers, they said.
“These are things we grew up on, and we loved them,” Dawn said. “We shared them with our family, and we want to share them with our friends.”
The restaurant’s decor represents all things Louisiana, including nods to the jazz scene, a bead-laden chandelier representing New Orleans, Louisiana State University wall art and more.
“We provide somewhere for people to relax; it’s not stuffy,” Dawn said. “We’re your local mom-and-pop shop.”
They also pointed out that they are a family-friendly restaurant.
“We created something we would want to go to, where I’d want to bring my kids,” Dawn said.
The couple regard themselves as very hands-on and can often be found cooking or washing dishes.
“I like to get out of the kitchen, touch tables, visit with people, make sure they are taken care of and answer questions they have,” Hoyt said. “A lot of people are first-timers and want to know how to peel crawfish.”
Business information:
MudBugs Bar and Grill, 8075 FM 423, Ste. 120, Frisco.
214-494-2847. mudbugsbarandgrill.com.
Hours:
Mon.-Thurs. 11 a.m.-9 p.m.
Fri.-Sat. 11 a.m.-10 p.m.
Sun. 11 a.m.-8 p.m.
