So many years ago ~ 40 and counting!
How did Shrimp Boat Manny’s Begin?
Back in ’85 in Lafayette, Louisiana, Poppa Manny Rachal took him his little son “Tee” Jake wit a shade tent, a boil pot, and some RC Cola in his boat to go down to da bayou to catch some crawfish. Dem two Cajuns set out dair crawfish nets and in hardly no time a-tall, dey had demseffs a coupla ice chestes fulla crawfish. But all of a sudden, a great big huge hurrycane whirlywin come right up outta mostes no wares and pulled dat whole boat – dem menfokes too – right up off da water! Fer True! Da whole boat!
Dat big big wirllywin jus turnd dem round and round and round for too long and when dat hurricane finally pooped out, Poppa Manny and Tee Jake was in some waters dat musta been in anudda county! Dey wernt in no bayou a-tall - no alligator, no Cypress stump and no mosses, no wair! It was a big wide wide open kinda water. Poppa Manny was feel’n kinda mossy in da head when da peoples dair tole him dey was at Lake Livingston in TEXAS. How on ert, he tought, was he gonna git hisself and his boy Tee Jake all da way back to Lafayette? He sure hadn’t took no money wit hisseff to go campin on da bayou! What WAS he gonna do?
Tee Jake was tellin his poppa he was hungry but dat Cajun man was real smart, him, when it come to food! Dey walked down to da first gas station and filled up dat boil pot wit water, pitched dair tent by da road and started boiling dem crawfish. Den, in no time a-tal, peeples was stoppin and axin Poppa Manny what was dat, dat smelled so mighty good!
It didn’t take dat Cajun man too long, him, to figure out to sell dem crawfish to pay da way fer him and Tee Jake to git back to Lafayette! Poppa Manny tole da famly all what happened to hisseff and Tee Jake. So dey drove all da way back to Texas to git dair boat. But when dey got dair, all dose peeples kept axin Poppa Manny to boil dem some more-a-dem real good crawfish. Well, no Cajun famly ever passes up a good chance to show some hospitalty to dem dat dont know about Cajun cookin! Da next ting you know, dair was a Shrimp Boat Manny’s restrant in Livingston, Texas and poppa Manny put dat real famous boat up in da airs in fronta da restrant! Peeples from all over da places come by to eat dat good good Cajun cookin at Shrimp Boat Manny’s and pass demseffs a real real good time, and dey say…
“Laissez les Bon Temps Rouler!”……….. “Let the good times roll!”
~ The Real Story ~
Early 1985, while visiting his brother Odell, Manny Rachal felt there was a “need” for boiled crawfish in the Livingston area! A young man of 33 with a growing family of three little ones and another on the way, he certainly could use a “few more dollars”. Weekdays he sold life insurance in Lafayette, LA and on weekends headed to Livingston, TX setting up his tent and a butane burner rig. Manny’s boiled crawfish soon became a local favorite of many Polk Countians. (His eldest son Jake, then 5, really did make the first trip with him, and it was so windy that pitching the tent was almost impossible. Manny later said of the fiasco, “If Jake hadn’t been with me, I would have packed it up and gone home.”) By November, that same year, locating 2 miles out on 190 West, he opened a one-room cafe in a 20 x 30 metal building with only 17 chairs, often using his desk as a table for “overflow”. He soon added space for more kitchen and dining areas, expanding seating capacity to 50. The business became well known for the great Cajun cooking and friendly atmosphere. Continued growth soon prompted Manny and Nancy to bring the restaurant into Livingston. Plans were well underway, when Harlan Cochran, a friend and loyal patron, offered a deal on the lumber from the JW Cochran & Co. Feed Mill, built in the early 1920’s, with the stipulation that Manny would handle the demolition and clean the site. The old lumber gave instant age and character to the Cajun style building you’re now in, completed in February 1991. A year later, they added on the rear dining section, and a year after that, additional office and kitchen space. The Lord has continued to bless the Rachal family through the years. You may have been served by one of their five children (Ryan, Jake, Josh, Ross and Jessie) as they grew up working here.
Manny and Nancy would like to personally thank all of you, our guests through the years, for the great friendships and loyal patronage. You are one of the main reasons Shrimp Boat Manny’s has made its mark in East Texas for over 30 years. We praise Jesus that we will continue to grow, expand, and serve our community in the Louisiana Cajun way – with a warm heart and a friendly smile!
Back in ’85 in Lafayette, Louisiana, Poppa Manny Rachal took him his little son “Tee” Jake wit a shade tent, a boil pot, and some RC Cola in his boat to go down to da bayou to catch some crawfish. Dem two Cajuns set out dair crawfish nets and in hardly no time a-tall, dey had demseffs a coupla ice chestes fulla crawfish. But all of a sudden, a great big huge hurrycane whirlywin come right up outta mostes no wares and pulled dat whole boat – dem menfokes too – right up off da water! Fer True! Da whole boat!
Dat big big wirllywin jus turnd dem round and round and round for too long and when dat hurricane finally pooped out, Poppa Manny and Tee Jake was in some waters dat musta been in anudda county! Dey wernt in no bayou a-tall - no alligator, no Cypress stump and no mosses, no wair! It was a big wide wide open kinda water. Poppa Manny was feel’n kinda mossy in da head when da peoples dair tole him dey was at Lake Livingston in TEXAS. How on ert, he tought, was he gonna git hisself and his boy Tee Jake all da way back to Lafayette? He sure hadn’t took no money wit hisseff to go campin on da bayou! What WAS he gonna do?
Tee Jake was tellin his poppa he was hungry but dat Cajun man was real smart, him, when it come to food! Dey walked down to da first gas station and filled up dat boil pot wit water, pitched dair tent by da road and started boiling dem crawfish. Den, in no time a-tal, peeples was stoppin and axin Poppa Manny what was dat, dat smelled so mighty good!
It didn’t take dat Cajun man too long, him, to figure out to sell dem crawfish to pay da way fer him and Tee Jake to git back to Lafayette! Poppa Manny tole da famly all what happened to hisseff and Tee Jake. So dey drove all da way back to Texas to git dair boat. But when dey got dair, all dose peeples kept axin Poppa Manny to boil dem some more-a-dem real good crawfish. Well, no Cajun famly ever passes up a good chance to show some hospitalty to dem dat dont know about Cajun cookin! Da next ting you know, dair was a Shrimp Boat Manny’s restrant in Livingston, Texas and poppa Manny put dat real famous boat up in da airs in fronta da restrant! Peeples from all over da places come by to eat dat good good Cajun cookin at Shrimp Boat Manny’s and pass demseffs a real real good time, and dey say…
“Laissez les Bon Temps Rouler!”……….. “Let the good times roll!”
~ The Real Story ~
Early 1985, while visiting his brother Odell, Manny Rachal felt there was a “need” for boiled crawfish in the Livingston area! A young man of 33 with a growing family of three little ones and another on the way, he certainly could use a “few more dollars”. Weekdays he sold life insurance in Lafayette, LA and on weekends headed to Livingston, TX setting up his tent and a butane burner rig. Manny’s boiled crawfish soon became a local favorite of many Polk Countians. (His eldest son Jake, then 5, really did make the first trip with him, and it was so windy that pitching the tent was almost impossible. Manny later said of the fiasco, “If Jake hadn’t been with me, I would have packed it up and gone home.”) By November, that same year, locating 2 miles out on 190 West, he opened a one-room cafe in a 20 x 30 metal building with only 17 chairs, often using his desk as a table for “overflow”. He soon added space for more kitchen and dining areas, expanding seating capacity to 50. The business became well known for the great Cajun cooking and friendly atmosphere. Continued growth soon prompted Manny and Nancy to bring the restaurant into Livingston. Plans were well underway, when Harlan Cochran, a friend and loyal patron, offered a deal on the lumber from the JW Cochran & Co. Feed Mill, built in the early 1920’s, with the stipulation that Manny would handle the demolition and clean the site. The old lumber gave instant age and character to the Cajun style building you’re now in, completed in February 1991. A year later, they added on the rear dining section, and a year after that, additional office and kitchen space. The Lord has continued to bless the Rachal family through the years. You may have been served by one of their five children (Ryan, Jake, Josh, Ross and Jessie) as they grew up working here.
Manny and Nancy would like to personally thank all of you, our guests through the years, for the great friendships and loyal patronage. You are one of the main reasons Shrimp Boat Manny’s has made its mark in East Texas for over 30 years. We praise Jesus that we will continue to grow, expand, and serve our community in the Louisiana Cajun way – with a warm heart and a friendly smile!