Wichita’s newest Cajun restaurant opened this week on the west side

Aieee! Wichita’s newest Cajun restaurant has opened.

On Thursday, owner Joseph Fowler opened his T’Geaux Cajun restaurant in the former Pizza Hut building at 8977 W. Central, near Central and Tyler. Earlier this week, he painted the word “Cajun” across the roof line in big block letters, and passersby have gotten pretty excited, and a couple dozen have stopped in to ask him what he’s up to.

The new restaurant is Fowler’s second attempt at making something work in the building, which he took over in early July, filling it with a second location of his Electric Pizzeria. But he couldn’t make that concept go, he said, partially because the prices of his pizza-making supplies rose too sharply and partly because, he decided, he had opened too close to his other Electric Pizzeria restaurant, which has been operating at 240 S. West St. since February 2019.

T’geaux Cajun, he said, has a Panda Express-type setup, with all the dishes hot and ready to go. Customers will be able to get their choice of plain white rice, red beans and rice, or dirty rice and also pick an entree, with choices like hot Cajun shrimp, chicken creole, crawfish etouffee, chicken fricassee and buttered beef.

The restaurant, which has a drive through, offers appetizers like catfish tenders, shrimp croquettes and corn muffins. Meals cost $12 or less, he said.

To start off, T’Geaux Cajun will be open from 3 to 9 p.m. Wednesdays through Sundays. Fowler said he’ll adjust those hours based on the response from the neighborhood.

He said he’s hired a sous chef he’s happy with, and the kitchen staff has a combined 95 years of experience.

Fowler has recently launched both his website and Facebook page, and people can see photos of his dishes there.

This story was originally published November 17, 2021 at 2:34 PM.

Denise Neil

The Wichita Eagle

316-268-6327

Denise Neil has covered restaurants and entertainment since 1997. Her Dining with Denise Facebook page is the go-to place for diners to get information about local restaurants. She’s a regular judge at local food competitions and speaks to groups all over Wichita about dining.