Around Town

Downtown’s prayers answered: Johnson’s does breakfast

by Christiaan Mader

Say goodbye to Friday and Saturday dinner and hello to sunshine.

Good barbecue is always but a biscuit away from great breakfast, and that’s just talking leftovers. As of May 19 Johnson’s Boucaniere in Downtown Lafayette will offer its nationally buzzed-about line of smoked pork, chicken and boudin to AM dining.

According to Greg Walls, who co-owns the staple Downtown smokehouse with his wife Lori, breakfast has been long in demand from Downtown denizens and smoked meat acolytes alike. The motivation to finally make the move was family-oriented. With a limited staff, long hours clocked prepping for lunch and dinner services, picking up extra shifts and slack in busy months were taxing the Walls’ family life.

“We’re trying to have our cake and eat it as well,” Walls says. “We love our family life and restaurant life, and this gives us the opportunity to have both.”

The change in hours will eliminate Johnson’s dinner services on Friday and Saturday but takes advantage of early morning hours already staffed by employees prepping the day’s selection of savories. New operating hours will open the smokehouse to the public Tuesday through Saturday at 7 a.m., closing at 3 p.m. each day except Saturday, when you get an extra two and half hours to get your itis fix.

Upcoming offerings, circulating wildly via social media, include a “build your own” biscuit with choice of brisket, pulled pork, or smoked sausage; a boucaniere breakfast bowl featuring choice of smoked meat, hash browns, half a biscuit, and barbecue sauce; and a stuffed grilled cheese. Yes, it also features your choice of smoked meat.

Once the new the service is in place, Johnson’s will begin serving its own signature coffee blend by Reve Coffee Roasters.

Keep your eyes peeled on Johnson’s social media sites for the unveiling of a mystery Eat Lafayette special featuring its legendary boudin and sauce piquante.

But whatever you do, by all means don’t hit the snooze button, as the true breakfast of champions isn’t served after 10 a.m.