Today we’d like to introduce you to Dru Evans.
Dru, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today
I started in our family restaurant eleven years ago! My how time flies. At the time, in the begging years of the restaurant, I worked and assisted my mother as I could while also working a full-time job in Corporate America. I later took on a full-time role in the family restaurant Esther’s Cajun Cafe & Soul food. My mother who is the owner and founder of Esther’s, previously worked at Center point Energy for 24 years, a local electric company in Houston Texas decided that she would take a leap of faith and open her restaurant. She did, and it’s been amazing! Working with two other siblings in the business, we have endured many trials and tribulations as a family to get the business to a consistent place of operating. However, to a mother who is not only gifted but also a visionary, I have learned as I’ve worked alongside her that with perseverance and faith, anything is possible! The business grew as a result of these principles and we currently own and operate two locations. Her ground work has paved the way for me to be groomed and blessed to own and operate our second location Esther’s Signature Dish Resturant, LLC.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
No way! Fact, around 60 percent of new restaurants fail within the first year. And nearly 80 percent shutter before their fifth anniversary. To make it past the years of expected failure has not at all been easy; it certainly takes a team. Having start-up costs, covering labor, a consistent food product that customers love and that the chefs and cooks can execute daily are all hurdles to get over in the process. Not to mention the constant demands for staff because the restaurant industry is known to have some of the highest turns over rates. They are understanding the importance of protecting our business intellectual property from those who seek to leverage their success off of the brand. Some of the other struggles have also been operating without creating daily systems that work in order to keep us from becoming a slave to the business that keeps us from enjoying a well balanced life. The road has been filled with bumps along the way.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
When you enter Esther’s Signature Dish Restaurant, prepare to become an extended family member. Select things are merited for family and at Esther’s Signature Dish “Where The Food Is Delish!” this is truly how you leave feeling! The experience at Esther’s Signature Dish Restaurant is comparable to returning home for an authentic creole’s meal while reuniting with family and friends. Our specialty is our Creole Brunch & Lunch Cuisine menu items such as braised oxtails, blackened fish and shrimp, cajun fried chicken, shrimp and grits and chicken and waffles, to name a few.
We offer a unique atmosphere and menu items that include our Grandmothers passed down recipes that make up our unique Signature taste! We are most proud of the impact that we have made in Houston and surrounding areas bringing smiles to the faces of every customer that enters our establishments daily. In addition, the blessing that we have been able to be to our community through philanthropy and the resource that we have been fortunate to be to all of the families we are connected to through our team members here at Esther’s Restaurants.
What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
My proudest career moment thus far has been in having the opportunity to see the legacy that started with our mother now being passed on and shifting forward by the next generation.
Contact Info:
- Address: 1102 Pinemont Dr, Suite A-1
Houston TX, 77018 - Website: www.estherscajunsoul.com
- Phone: 832-516-8818
- Email: estherssignature@yahoo.com
- Instagram: estherssignaturedish
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EsthersSignatureDish/?ref=bookmarks
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/esthers-cajun-cafe-and-soul-food-houston-3
Image Credit:
Christin Shoots People
J. Laray Photography
Bless Tha Belly
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