Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

The Bayou Rouge Bistro has gained popularity since it opened a few years ago in Selma.

The New Orleans-style restaurant is The Selma Times-Journal’s Business of the week.

Co-owners Coley Purvis and Nigel Hart originally opened the restaurant at a small storefront on Alabama Avenue for carry-out only. They eventually relocated to a restaurant on 128 Broad Street. The location was once a Chinese Restaurant. 

“Customers really loved our food, but they wanted a place to sit down and eat,” said Hart, who also serves as chef. “It was a nice compliment that people loved our food.”

Purvis, a restaurateur, also serves as a musician in the eatery. Purvis saw a great chance for his friend of 39 years, to leave New Orleans and relocate to Selma, where family and friends reside. They were retired in New Orleans but decided to open a business in the Queen City.

“It was a great opportunity to come to Selma,” Purvis said. “A lot of people in Selma have ties to Louisiana, either they loved there or their kids went to college at Tulane”

The Bayou Rouge Bistro is open Thursday through Sunday: Thursdays and Saturdays, 4-9 p.m., Fridays, 11 a.m.-2 p.m., 4-9 p.m. amd Sundays, 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m.

The menu includes: Gumbo Ya-Ya, Jambalaya, Beignets and Red Beans & Rice. Thursday is Pasta night. Seafood Night is Friday and Steak Night is Saturday.

Purvis boasts about the Bayou Bistro’s two tags: “A taste of Louisiana with a touch of Alabama and Bayou Bistro is the weekend place to be.”

Carla Robinson, a waitress whose father was born in Selma,  enjoys working at Bayou Bistro.

“I love being part of Bayou Bistro,” Robinson said. “We have unique food. I love seeing Selma taste our food for the first time. They enjoy it and they come back.”