SHREVEPORT, LA – The Boom or Bust Byway is the best way to experience the long history of a fluctuating oil industry while driving along the scenic countryside, enjoying the company of local people, and indulging in southern eateries throughout the rural towns of Caddo Parish. The Boom or Bust Byway follows Highway 2 and is defined by the Louisiana/Texas border and Hwy. 3049 on the west and Lake Claiborne on the east.
Five family-owned restaurant treasures along the byway include Longwood General Store & Casino, Caddo Outdoors Bait and Tackle, Cool Beans Coffee Shop, Outlaw BBQ, and Main Street Restaurant.
Follow the byway to Longwood General Store & Casino, located at 3502 LA-169 in Mooringsport, to relish in a three-page menu of breakfast platters, appetizers, lunch specials, dinners, and homemade desserts around the clock. This 24-hour restaurant has a menu that consists of everything from breakfast burritos and eggs Benedict to sandwiches, seafood, steaks, cobblers, cakes, and more.
“We have a really good Yum-Yum cake with a secret recipe, but we’re known for our ribeye steak that ranges from seven to 48 ounces and our extensive menu options. I always say ‘If you want it, it’s on it’,” said Patty Aultman, general manager at Longwood General Store & Casino.
Save your appetite for Caddo Outdoors Bait and Tackle located at 118 Ferry Lake Rd., Oil City. This restaurant offers travelers the opportunity to enjoy popular southern dishes from chicken fried steak to red beans and rice, fried catfish, meat pies, and more. Visitors can indulge in more than five different flavors of homemade pies or treat themselves to an apple or peach fried pie.
“We thrive on our motto ‘Biscuits, Burgers, and Bait.’ You can build your own breakfast, fill up with a burger basket, order a good-sized salad, grab a slice of pie, and get your bait and tackle all in one stop,” said Chris Brown, manager at Caddo Outdoors Bait and Tackle.
Caddo Outdoors Bait and Tackle is open 5:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., Monday-Wednesday; 5:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., Thursday and Friday; and 5:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., Saturday and Sunday.
At Cool Beans Coffee Shop, located at 109 West Louisiana Ave. in Vivian, visitors can experience
a mellow, rustic atmosphere in the middle of Vivian’s downtown area. They offer a variety of drinks from coffee and cappuccino to hot chocolate and other seasonal drinks with more than 10 different flavors including sugar-free options.
“The Cambonesian drink is the local favorite. It’s made of only three ingredients, a shot of espresso, two percent milk and sweetened condensed milk,” said Amanda Beard, owner of Cool Beans Coffee Shop.
Visitors can also order pastries and lunch options such as muffins, cookies, cinnamon rolls, cupcakes, paninis, soups, chicken salad, and more. Cool Beans Coffee Shop is open 6 a.m. to 5 p.m., Tuesday- Friday, and 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., Saturday.
Outlaw BBQ, located at 959 South Pine St. in Vivian, is the ultimate stop along the byway for the barbecue-loving traveler. Although known for their ribs and fried fish, this restaurant serves everything from chopped beef sandwiches to potato salads, steak, shrimp, and seasonal crawfish. Outlaw BBQ is open 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., Tuesday-Saturday.
Stop by Main Street Restaurant, located at 12807 Main St. in Gilliam, to gain the ultimate café experience. Visitors can dine-in for daily lunch specials, dinner, and homemade desserts. The most popular special is on Thursday nights serving chicken fried steak with two vegetable sides and hot water cornbread. Dinner options include a fish and shrimp platter, sirloins and ribeyes, catfish and jambalaya, and more. Cobblers and pies are made from scratch with more than five different flavors such as peach, blackberry, strawberry, peanut butter, and more.
“Our customers are half locals and the other half are just people making pit stops as they are driving along the highway,” said Ashley Dubois, manager of Main Street Restaurant.
Main Street Restaurant is open 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., Sunday-Tuesday and 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., Wednesday-Saturday.
For more information on the eateries along the Boom or Bust Byway, visit www.BoomOrBustByway.com.