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Soon Downtown Troy’s food selection will get a little bit more diverse as Bayou la Roux prepares to open later this year.

Owner Ben Kay launched the Bayou la Roux food truck at Sips Beer Garden and Food Court, bringing authentic Cajun food to Troy, back in February and it was a success.

“It was wildly successful, it well exceeded my expectations, which was phenomenal,” Kay said of the food truck. “We developed a pretty strong clientele that would back to us regularly.”

Kay grew up outside of Monroe, La., before ultimately attending the Louisiana Culinary Institute.

“I did culinary school in Baton Rouge and worked as a chef in Monroe and Baton Rouge for about 10 years,” Kay said. “I’ve been a head chef, executive chef at probably a dozen different places in my career.”

Kay’s parents moved to Crestview, Fla., and then eventually to Andalusia, which brought him to the area.

“I wanted to be closer to my family and there really wasn’t a lot of work in Andalusia,” Kay recalled. “I was already taking some classes in Troy and just got to where I liked the town. It was just comfortable to me, it reminded me a lot of Rustin, La., which is another college town that I have fond memories of. I also met some really good people here and the next thing I knew I lived in Alabama.”

Once arriving in Troy, Kay saw a strong opportunity to bring Cajun food to Troy.

“There was a hole in the market, no one was doing Cajun food here,” he said. “If you wanted a burger or wings or BBQ you can’t throw a rock without hitting that. I heard people complaining that there wasn’t a lot of diversity in the food scene here. There was a hole in the market and I went for it.”

Some of Bayou la Roux’s most popular dishes include the Crawfish Etouffee, the French Dip, the Bayou Burger and much more.

“I grew up cooking all this stuff, so none of that was new to me,” Kay emphasized. “We cook the traditional stuff and do it right and charge a reasonable price for it. The market responded to it.”

After the building that the former Francesca’s operated out of in Troy became available, Kay saw another opportunity.

“When Francesca’s building opened up we weren’t quite ready to make the jump, but when the iron is hot you have to strike,” Kay said. “So, that’s what we’re doing.”

Bayou la Roux passed its first hurdle to opening the location in Downtown Troy Tuesday night when the Troy City Council approved its liquor license. The building is currently under renovation, but Kay said he plans to be open by the end of 2023.

“I would like to become a household name in Troy,” said Kay. “I would like to become a part of people’s routine. That’s really my main goal. Ultimately, I want to create a good value for the customer.

“It will be mid-range to upper-mid range as far as pricing but when people get their food or cocktail I want them to feel like they got what they paid for. I think as long as we continue to do that then we’ll continue to be accepted by the general population.”

Bayou la Roux’s physical location will be at 72 N. Court Square, the location where Francesca’s was previously located, and can be found online, at www.bayoularoux.com.