Native Louisianan Jack Layman brought his take on Cajun cuisine to McKinney in 2014 with the opening of his second Bayou Jack’s Cajun Grill.

The McKinney location at 218 E. Louisiana St. came a year after Bayou Jack’s opened in Roanoke.

Layman worked at another restaurant for several years before he decided to take what he had learned and open his own place. 

The Bayou Jack’s menu is loaded with more traditional Cajun options, such as boiled crawfish, shrimp, crab, gumbo, and signature dishes such as Dirty Balls and Shrimp Grits. But the restaurant also serves burgers, nachos, chimichangas, pasta, sandwiches, steak and chicken.

“We try not to just corner ourselves as a crawfish-Cajun place,” General Manger Jacob Bedford said. “We have other dishes to try and bridge that gap for people that don’t necessarily like Cajun.”

Bedford said the restaurant is most known for its food’s quality and freshness.

“All of our food is made in-house with in-house recipes,” he said. “I would say that’s the main thing that sets us apart. Literally everything is made-to-order. I think the extra care that we take in our products sets us apart for sure.”

The restaurant offers an atmosphere for any occasion, whether that be a business lunch or a family dinner. In the last year, Bayou Jack’s doubled in size by transforming the outdoor patio into an indoor bar.

“It’s a pretty laid-back, fun atmosphere,” Bedford said. “We serve Cajun food, which, to me, means a fun, welcoming, family environment, and our staff treats our guests that way. And there is always zydeco music playing whether we like it or not.”