Cajun Boil & Bar Opens At Louis Joliet Mall

JOLIET, IL — After several months of interior renovations to the former Tilted Kilt property, Cajun Boil & Bar has finally opened for business inside the Louis Joliet Mall. The new sit-down restaurant is between the Macy's and JCPenney department stores along Mall Loop Drive.

Cajun Boil & Bar stays open 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 11 a.m. to midnight Friday and Saturday and noon to 9 p.m. Sunday. The new restaurant has a large bar area. This marks the growing restaurant chain's fourth restaurant in Chicago's suburbs. Its other restaurants are in Orland Park, Oak Park and Oakbrook Terrace.

On Tuesday, Joliet Patch interviewed the new manager of the Louis Joliet Mall restaurant, Sam Gonzalez. He recently moved here from California to get the new Cajun Boil & Bar off to a smooth start.

"Hopefully, we'll bring more people to the Louis Mall," Gonzalez said of Cajun Boil & Bar. "This is a really good location."

Cajun Boil & Bar specializes in Southern style food.

"A lot of people compare us to Red Lobster, but they say that we taste a lot better," Gonzalez told Patch. "Everything is fried or boiled. Nothing is grilled. The gumbo is made everyday in the morning."

If you aren't familiar with the expanding restaurant chain, Gonzalez said, that's OK.

About 60 percent of Cajun Boil & Bar's first-time customers have not had Cajun before, he said.

The new addition to the Louis Joliet Mall features four styles of Cajun flavor, Gonzalez said:

• Mild
• Medium
• Hot
• Fire

For some selections, the price fluctuates daily based on the seafood market.

"Our motto is get down and dirty," Gonzalez said.

Some of the crowd-pleasers at other Cajun Boil & Bar restaurants include: po'boys, the fried gator appetizer, clams and the fried gator entree. Walk-ins are welcome. However, groups of 10 or more people are urged to call ahead for reservations, Gonzalez said.

Job openings still available: The new Cajun Boil & Bar near I-55 and Plainfield Road in Joliet still has a number of job openings for hostesses, servers, bartenders and managers, Gonzalez said. For information, the restaurant can be reached at its main number, 815-782-4770.