Sherrie and Kenny St. Germain, and children Jenna, Micah, and Tommy, and several family pets went through the horor of hurricane Katrina. There suburban Chalmette home bore the brunt of not only water, but oil.

Our tough, "chalmette gurl" Sherrie was determined to turn the loss and sadness of New Orleans into something POSITIVE: She missed and longed for the down-home, punchy ("well seasoned not spicy!") cuisine of the Big Easy.

Many of the entrees are generations-old recipes from the mothers and grand mothers of Sherrie and Kenny, some of whom only spoke Cajun French. MSG is a dirty word (not related to rice!) at the cafe', and all natural hormone-free chicken and other wholesome ingredients rule in our kitchen.

"I can't thank Kingsport enough for being so receptive to what was once just a passing dream," says Sherrie, who believes the cafe's existence is proof that people can rise above their circumstances and difficult pasts without clinging to a mindset of perpetual victimhood.

so............laissez les bons temps rouler