Photo by by Shawn Arrajj

Photo by by Shawn Arrajj

Photo by by Shawn Arrajj

Photo by by Shawn Arrajj

With crawfish season in full swing, the Bennett family in Cypress has brought back the Texas Crawfish Barn for another year. Run by Brian and Francie Bennett, the barn gives residents the chance to pick up fresh Louisiana mudbugs by the pound, which can be consumed in a picnic area on-site or taken home to enjoy.

The concept for the crawfish barn was inspired by a friend of the owners who runs a similar restaurant in Crosby called Crawfish Shack. The increasing popularity of crawfish festivals around Houston and the lack of places for people to buy them in bulk led Brian and Francie to launch their own version in Cy-Fair.

"People definitely have a taste for it over here," Brian said. "They want it, so we're getting it to them."

The barn is only open for crawfish season. The owners kicked things off in January and will keep it going until around Father's Day weekend. Patrons can stop by on Saturday or Sunday, but the owners plan to extend hours to Fridays once the weather gets warmer. Warmer weather means more and larger crawfish available for a lower cost, which gets passed to customers, Brian said.

Operating the barn is a true family affair. The husband and wife duo launched the idea with Francie's brother Sean Williams in 2013. In its first year they came away with enough money to cover the costs of starting up and the motivation to keep it going.

"We consider it a success," Brian said. "We met a lot of good people who we are already seeing come back this year."

Crawfish is the featured dish, but the menu also includes shrimp—sold by the pound—as well as boudin and sausage. Customers can purchase soft drinks and are allowed to bring their own alcoholic beverages. The barn also does catering. The most sold to one person was 300 pounds of crawfish and 100 pounds of shrimp for a block party, Brian said.

Crawfish boils as a social gathering have been a tradition for Francie, whose family is from Louisiana. The atmosphere at the Crawfish Barn is similar to the crawfish boils from her childhood, she said—relaxed, family-friendly and open to whoever wants to stop by.

Picnic tables are available in the barn area and the outdoor backyard area. During peak hours, it is not unusual to see diners hanging out with a radio, throwing a football around and just interacting with each other, Francie said.

"If two families are here and they both have kids, they might not know each other, but before long they're all playing together," she said.

Texas Crawfish Barn

14540 Cypress Rosehill Road

Cypress 713-206-8859

Hours: Sat.–Sun. noon–9 p.m.