Brian Brother reopens Bayou BBQ & Grill
New London — Brian Brother is back with Bayou BBQ.
The original Bayou BBQ & Grill was open on Connecticut Avenue near Broad Street from 1988 to 1995.
After more than two decades, which included opening Mystic Ribs, cooking at Bravo Bravo and Flanders Fish Market, working in sales for All American Foods, cooking for a barbecue Mexican restaurant in New York, cooking at a brunch place in San Francisco and running a taco truck in New London, Brother has revitalized the Cajun joint.
The self-described "peripatetic chef" is hoping to run Bayou BBQ & Grill for five or six years, noting, "This is my last rodeo. There will be no new restaurants after this."
It quietly opened last Thursday at 221 Shaw St., the former site of Osmino's that sits just off the traffic circle.
Lunch options, all under $13, include catfish, shrimp and roast beef po' boys, along with BBQ pulled pork, chicken and sausage gumbo, enchiladas, avocado toast and bread pudding.
Dinner additions include St. Louis ribs, shrimp Creole and Cajun jambalaya. Fans of Brother's cuisine will be happy to see the return of the Chimilada, a grilled burrito topped with Ranchero sauce. This was a menu item at Raiders Roost & Kitchen, which Brother operated at 221 Shaw St. — he owns the building — from 2007 to 2010. He then briefly turned the spot into La Cantina before leasing it to Osmino's Pizzeria in 2011.
"I was just burnt out on the restaurant business, and just felt my food wasn't very fresh, wasn't as interesting as it could be, and I really thought I was done as a chef," Brother said.
But clearly things changed.
He spent about eight months in 2012 as chef at the Mexican barbecue restaurant Fuego Picante on Long Island. He then lived in California from 2013 to 2017, where he worked at a brunch/lunch place.
"Again I'm finding out I do have something to offer," he said. "What I really needed was to take a step back from New London; I was in a rut." Still, some summers he came back to run the Snax Dragon taco cart.
When Brother was thinking about opening a restaurant in New London, he was torn between making it a Mexican restaurant or Bayou BBQ & Grill but went with the latter because of the name recognition.
But the menu still contains Mexican dishes, and he will have tacos and mini quesadillas on the happy hour menu.
To prepare for opening Bayou BBQ & Grill, Brother took back the space at 221 Shaw St. on July 1, before which Osmino's Grill moved to 639 Bank St.
One employee Brother has brought on is Jenn Lepore, who many may know from her 24 years at Stash's.
Brother said he couldn't have done this without the help of the people in the local restaurant community, citing the proprietors of On The Waterfront Restaurant, Dutch Tavern, The Social Bar + Kitchen and Daddy Jack's.
"There's just so much love in New London," he said. Brother often hears people talking about how New London is turning the corner, and his message is, "We have turned the corner!"
Business Snapshot
Business: Bayou BBQ & Grill
Where: 221 Shaw St., New London
Owner: Brian Brother
Hours: 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Monday-Friday; 4-9 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday; 4:30-10 p.m. Friday-Saturday
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