The Kwik Stop outside of Church Point, Louisiana, is off the beaten path. Yet it’s developed a wide reputation for good food, and in Cajun Country, folks are all about food.

Owners Chris and Nenna Higginbotham were operating a drive-thru restaurant in 1999. When the Kwik Stop came up for lease, Chris saw potential. Located a mile and a half outside of a town with a population of just under 4,500 people, the Kwik Stop was a gamble for sure. Today, their success revolves around their food business.

A good way to advertise around here is to put flyers on cars at churches. Some people get mad, and some come and get barbecue.

Hearty Morning

The day starts out with a deluxe breakfast that includes two eggs, toast, grits, tater tots and a choice of four pieces of bacon, two sausage patties or two slices of ham—a hearty breakfast for only $5.39. Biscuits and breakfast sandwiches are popular for workers in a hurry, and Kwik Stop is focused on giving people in the community what they want when they want it.

“We substitute easily,” Higginbotham said. “We want to make the customer happy, so we’ll cook whatever you want at 5:30 in the morning,” he said adding, “A lot of people order a hamburger with a fried egg on it. We serve the sandwiches all day; we never turn anything down.”

Barbecue to the Rescue

About six years ago the Kwik Stop began serving barbecue each Thursday. It was a simple endeavor using basic consumer barbecue pits, but Higginbotham wanted to boost Sunday sales, and he knew that people love Sunday barbecue.

Sunday soon became the day with the largest volume of food sales, but it took work. “We weren’t crazy about working on Sundays, but we were concerned about getting it going. A good way to advertise around here is to put flyers on cars at churches. We started putting flyers out,” Chris' wife, Nenna, explained, adding “When they get out of church, they see the paper. Some people get mad, and some come and get barbecue.” Today, customers choose between pork steaks or a half of chicken with potato salad and pork and beans and rice dressing.

Barbecue has helped diversify the business. “Some people call and want 30 pork steaks. They have company coming in, and they make their own sides.” Kwik Stop got a larger pit, which enables Higginbotham to cook 120 pork steaks at one time and 110 chicken halves. The intense South Louisiana heat and humidity, however, can impact food sales. When it’s hot, plate lunch sales go down. “On Sundays, people want to eat and take a nap,” he said.

Cookin’ Cajun

When you serve Cajun food, it better be as good as anything grandma cooks. The crawfish etouffee hits the right note on seasoning, and it’s filled with Louisiana crawfish. The Pastalaya is another good example of great Cajun cuisine. It’s spicy without the overuse of pepper, so the flavor comes through with each bite.

Even the hamburger at Kwik Stop is Cajun. “We make the patties everyday with 81/19 ground beef. We make two or three batches of patties, and it’s mixed by hand by two people. Mixing it well is key to even flavor and seasoning,” Higginbotham explained.

You can’t do Cajun in a c-store without great gumbo. The chicken and sausage gumbo is a good seller. It’s chock-full of meat, and with rice, it’s a full meal. Kwik Stop also uses the freshest ingredients in its salad, but it’s the house dressing that’s made the salad a customer favorite.

“It’s our own secret recipe; we’ve had it since the 1990s. It’s mayo-based, but it’s our blend of seasonings that puts this over the top,” Higginbotham said. And for dessert, there’s bread pudding with icing that’s light and not too sweet.

SNAP Access

The couple found that offering popular menu items as frozen take-home meals broadens the customer base to include people with electronic benefit transfer (EBT) cards under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).

“The food is what sets us apart. We sell our hamburger patties for people to take home and cook. This helps customers with EBT cards,” Higginbotham said adding, “Our pork roast in gravy and meatball stew is available in our freezer section. People around here love rice and gravy.”

Chris Higginbotham went out on a limb 20 years ago and leased this store when Nenna said don’t do it.

He admits he wasn’t sure how it would work out. It’s not close to town, and he says, “It has to be worth their while [for customers] to come out to eat.”

Fortunately for everyone, it turned out to be a great move for the family and the community.