A popular Creole food truck has launched a restaurant in Columbia. Here’s where it is
A taste of New Orleans has now found a more permanent home in Columbia.
The Bistreaux by Fleur de Licious, a Creole restaurant from the owners of the Fleur de Licious food truck that has been popular in Columbia in recent years, has recently launched at 2700 Broad River Road suite B. The brick-and-mortar restaurant opened its doors in late July.
Co-owners and husband-and-wife duo Gregg and LaToya Barthé, who met in Louisiana two decades ago and moved to Columbia in 2017, have long operated the green-and-purple Fleur de Licious food truck that has been ubiquitous at festivals and markets in the capital city. Now they’ve launched The Bistreaux, a full-service restaurant that calls to mind the culinary and decorative touches of the French Quarter and its cuisine.
The Bistreaux’s menu is loaded with a deep roster of Louisiana favorites, including boudin balls, po’ boy sandwiches, red beans and rice, shrimp and grits, gumbo, shrimp etouffee, crawfish etouffee and more.
“It’s traditional New Orleans food,” Gregg Barthé said, noting that the green tomato Tchoupitoulas are a crowd favorite. Those are green tomatoes that are hand-breaded and deep fried, then topped with crawfish and Cajun cream sauce.
Gregg said the possibility of a brick-and-mortar restaurant has been on his mind for years, but a number of factors — most pointedly the beginning of the pandemic in 2020 — slowed the process. Through it all, though, he said Columbia has shown love for the New Orleans-inspired food the Barthés have sold, first through the food truck and now at a more permanent spot.
“I always say there isn’t anything special about selling Cajun and Creole food in Louisiana, but when you bring it somewhere else, it becomes something special,” Gregg said. “That’s what happened when we came here. It became a little special, and it brought us a lot of success on the food truck.”
He said the food truck is being sidelined for now, at least until The Bistreaux finds its groove.
LaToya Barthé said it is a thrill to get the doors opened at The Bistreaux.
“It’s a dream come true,” she said. “We’ve been married for 20 years. When we first met we were selling food at the parades in New Orleans. ... We’ve always worked together as a team, and now I feel like we are living our dream.”
This story was originally published August 4, 2022 at 5:00 AM.
