Café Orleans Express is the life long dream of its Founder, Aaron Joseph Smith, a native of the City of New Orleans. Aaron was born in New Orleans, in August of 1936 and grew up around the flavors and aromas of his Grandmother Bessie Breaux’s kitchen (see Bessie Breaux’s Bread Pudding with Bourbon sauce, on our menu). This was a time when “Real New Orleans Food” was being produced in the kitchens and restaurants around the City of New Orleans. Everyday Grandma Breaux cooked New Orleans favorites, in her kitchen, for her family and passed her culinary skills on to her daughter, Urania "Cee-ya" Allain, Aaron’s Mother (see Cee-ya’s Chocolate cake, on our menu).
Aaron’s father, Calvin Isadore Smith, Sr., was a native of North Carolina and was known to cook some mouth watering catfish (see Big Cal’s Whole fried Catfish, on our menu). Aaron continued to enjoy the flavorful food, cooked by his parents and Grandmother, and learn their skills.
His wife Gwen and daughter Niki learned these New Orleans recipes, very well and had their culinary talents enhanced by Irene Duplantier, Aaron’s brother’s Mother in Law (see Crawfish Ettouffee Duplantier, on our menu). "Miss Irene", as she was known, could cook these New Orleans favorites so good that whenever she was cooking, she had to keep it a secret for fear of too many people coming by wanting to get just a little taste.
Aaron J. Smith is not new to the restaurant business. He and his family have been in the restaurant business since 1985 and has operated many restaurants in the past and at present, both franchise and non- franchise. The Café Orleans Express concept is our own creation and we will be expanding the restaurant, in the near future, to a much larger facility with a larger menu including those famous New Orleans beignets. In the meantime please continue to enjoy our “Real New Orleans Food”.
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