“We like to think we’re responsible for the current Cajun seafood trend,” says Ed O’Grady. “It’s a very sensory experience.”Ĭajun cooking originated in the swamps and bayous of southern Louisiana by French settlers who migrated there from Canada, and used unique blends of spices including bell, black and cayenne peppers to season seafood and stews. “When the seafood boil comes out, it’s like a big bag of deliciousness, with all the intriguing aromas and flavors as the bag is tossed and the seafood is coated in the varied mild, medium or hot sauces,” O’Grady explains. Indeed, when one of Hook’s popular Cajun seafood dishes filled with snow crab legs, crawfish, clams, mussels, and shrimp hits your table, it makes quite an impression. O’Grady refers to the meal service as “a communal experience, where people come together and it’s fun to eat.” The company, founded in Maryland eight years ago, also has a location in Valley Stream and one coming soon in Bay Shore.
“We like to think we’re responsible for the current Cajun seafood trend,” says Ed O’Grady, regional director of operations. Nationwide, there are 47 franchise locations from New York to California. The 127-seat restaurant is located inside Broadway Mall.
Hook & Reel Cajun Seafood & Bar in Hicksville, which opened in July 2019, is part of a growing Cajun seafood trend on LI and across the country. Less than a year ago, a support center-based out of the corporate office in New York-was formed to train franchisees for all types of matters like marketing, finance, and human resources.Amid a flurry of new restaurants opening across Long Island in the past couple of years, Cajun seafood is an increasingly popular cuisine among diners seeking not just a meal, but a savory and fun dining experience. Raskin adds the company is growing infrastructure to support the openings. The managing partner believes this ensures better care and day-to-day success for each location. Lin says franchisees can only own one unit, and they are required to work at the restaurant. Though the growth is rapid, Lin assures that each franchisee comes in with a host of experience, either from previously owning a restaurant or working at one for a long time. “The business has just been growing and growing so we decided to bring this concept to more communities and serve more of the people,” says Lee Lin, managing partner. There’s also po’ boy sandwiches, a cold food bar, soups and salads, wine, beer, and signature cocktails. The seafood boil is mixed in a plastic bag filled with steam and then served to guests. Customers can further customize their order by picking a sauce, spice level, and extras like corn on the cob, potatoes, fries, boiled eggs, or sausage. The chain aims to create a New Orleans-like experience with common favorites like shrimp, lobster, crabs, clams, crawfish, and other seafood items. A lion’s share of the current and future units are franchises, with just a handful serving as company-owned.
That broadens to a goal of opening 100 stores over the next two years. The numbers are quite fluid as the full-service restaurant said it has 52 locations coming in 2020 across California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kansas, Maryland, Michigan, North Carolina, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Texas, Utah, and Virginia. “We built another one, and then another one and then it kind of exploded and we just started this path to opening a whole bunch every month,” adds Pamela Raskin, head of marketing. In 2018, it expanded to Staten Island, New York, ultimately leading to the company’s expansion throughout the East Coast and beyond. It started as a single unit in Lanham, Maryland. The seafood brand, founded in 2015 by CEO Tony Wang, is now up to 23 stores across 14 states. “As we see the sales progress, as well as other similar Cajun seafood boil concepts popping out everywhere across the nation, we really put our focus back on trying to expand this concept,” says Chane Lou, who works in business development. The restaurant is looking to extend the reach of its self-described lively dining experience from coast to coast in the next two years. The dishes are laid on paper and each table comes with a bucket for the discarded pieces. Hook and Reel, a Cajun seafood franchise chain based in Queens, New York, prides itself on showing customers that getting messy only adds to the fun.Ĭustomers, equipped with disposable gloves and bibs, are encouraged to dig into the food using their hands.
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