Boot T’s Seafood is thriving after crossing 1-year mark

Boot T’s Seafood, located in Boutte, recently celebrated its first year in business.

Operating a new business, especially a restaurant, can prove difficult. But after a little more than a year in business, Boot T’s Seafood is thriving thanks to their tasty dishes, ever expanding menu and first-rate service.

Yvette Dunn, one of the owners of Boot T’s, credits the success the Boutte restaurant has enjoyed to the continued support from loyal customers from both the parish and neighboring parishes, along with the hard work and dedication of her staff.

“It is a great feeling,” Dunn said about crossing the first-year milestone. “Very hard work, but also very rewarding. We love that families with young children feel comfortable here.”

Mike, Yvette and Brock Dunn celebrate the first-year anniversary with a cake brought to them by one of their frequent customers.

Boot T’s Seafood boasts a collection of po-boys, wraps and sandwiches, fried seafood platters, wings,  burgers, seafood tacos and delicious appetizers such as boudin egg rolls and crawfish pies.

Dunn said that Boot T’s has made several changes over the last year due to feedback they receive from customers.

“We always ask our customers for their feedback, whether it be positive or negative. We work hard daily at making changes and improvements here at Boot T’s,” she said. “We are told by many of our customers that they feel we are a very family-oriented restaurant. Most say when they eat our specials here it feels like they are eating in their grandma’s kitchen.

“This is our goal here at Boot T’s.”

Boot T’s is always adding to the menu. When they first opened, they offered one daily special. Now, there are two available.

“Many people have limited time for lunch so we figured we would offer two specials for them to choose from,” Dunn added.

They’ve also added additional seating and invested in new kitchen equipment to shorten time for food preparation.

And while they’ve had a lot of success so far, it hasn’t been easy.

“The most difficult part to me is the balance between home and the restaurant…we are still trying to figure that one out,” Dunn said. “Also the daily fluctuation of prices on food. One day you can pick up a 25-pound box of tomatoes for $19 then two days later it is up to $32.”

But Dunn said that hasn’t stopped the restaurant from evolving. Boot T’s is working on adding nightly specials on Friday and Saturday in addition to a website that will include their menu and all of their catering options. There are also plans to expand the restaurant’s porch for additional seating.

Additionally, they will soon feature live trivia that will take place once a week and include food and drink specials, and will start a limited menu that will be available during bar hours.

“We enjoy seeing the families in our community and also meeting all the new customers that walk through our door,” Dunn said. “Some customers are residents  and others are just passing through.

“Every day is a new day. We just keep rolling with the changes and try to improve every day.”