These days the family business is alive and well through Guillory’s Famous Foods, a delightful eatery specialising in Creole favourites such as BBQ, popcorn balls, cracklins and, of course, their signature dish, boudin. The menu makes for a recipe for success – but this venture is about much more than just balancing the books and making a tidy profit.
It is the living embodiment of one family’s blood, sweat and tears through generations. It is more than just bricks and mortar. It is more than just food. Instead, it tells you everything you need to know about generations of people from Southwest Louisiana – from how they cherish culture, faith, tradition and, above all, each other.
It runs in the family
Darby Sr was making his own way in the world of business when he did a swift u-turn and turned his attention to opening Famous Foods. He had been a successful salesman and was making strides operating snow cones machines up until that point.
What motivated this budding entrepreneur to delve into a completely new role? It was simple really: he wanted to continue his father’s legacy. Darby Sr’s dad has previously owned a restaurant called Sauces Kitchen and it’s this restaurant that inspired the creation of Famous Foods.
“He just fell upon it,” says his son Darby Jr, speaking about how his father ended up in the restaurant business. “I guess to finish what his daddy started.”
It could be said that Darby Sr merely wanted to pick up where his dad left off. That, however, isn’t the whole story. Instead, it’s fair to say that the family in general – sometimes stretching back multiple generations – appears to be a driving force for these present-day Guillorys.
You only have to listen to Darby Jr speak about his bloodline to understand how much emphasis the pair continue to put on the family. He’ll gladly tell you stories about his great-grandfather Papa Lou – a considerably virile man who fathered a grand total of 24 children. According to Darby Jr, he’d guess that this means he now has over 1,000 relatives spread across Louisiana and neighbouring states in America.
It’s understandably hard for such a huge brood to keep close ties, but having so many relatives is clearly a source of pride for both Darby Sr and Darby Jr. In particular, Darby Jr will happily speak in detail about his uncles. He describes his Uncle Pete as a man who ‘can pretty much do almost anything. Meanwhile, his Uncle Sam is no stranger to Famous Foods.
Darby Jr explains: “He comes [to the restaurant] every Friday, sits down in front, talks to people, hangs out.”
Sadly, the family hasn’t been without its tragedy. This includes the death of Papa (Darby Sr’s father) at the age of 49. After establishing the Sauce Kitchen, his health deteriorated and he passed away from a heart attack just three years after starting the business.
Speaking about his grandfather, Darby Jr said: “He didn’t take care of himself too much though. He ate, did what he wanted, and smoked a lot of cigarettes. He died young.”
Papa’s death led to the premature closure of the Sauces Kitchen, but his son Darby Sr would eventually keep the dream alive for him and his family through Famous Foods.
Working in good faith
Darby Sr and his son Darby Jr are both men of faith. This – coupled with a strong work ethic – is seemingly what ensures the success of Famous Foods.
Once the Sauces Kitchen closed its doors, Papa’s sons and other family members turned it into a mechanic shop. Those running the venture had the right intentions but couldn’t make the business work. According to Darby Jr, they didn’t have the heart to turn away customers who couldn’t afford their services and would often accept less than what was owed.
He explained: “They had a good heart and they wouldn’t charge nobody so they didn’t last long. People would come in and say, ‘all I’ve got is $20 but my car is not running.”
Darby Sr, however, didn’t veer away from this idea of charity and helping others when he turned the family business back into a restaurant. This was down to his upbringing, in which it had been instilled in him to ‘give of myself more. There’s no doubt that he was able to do this with Famous Foods.
“I began to give of what I had, the resources I had, even when I had little,” explained Darby Sr. “And I began to notice that, as I gave with a heart motivated by love, love of God and love of people, it began to increase and I began to have more to give. And that’s how it really began for me.”
Meanwhile, there’s no denying that Darby Sr passed these traits down to his son Darby Jr. We can only imagine that when Darby Jr began to play a more active role at Famous Foods, his father didn’t question whether the business was in safe hands.
“We’ve got to help the people,” said Darby Jr, echoing the same sentiments of his father. He added: “At the end of the day, being a Christian, being a Creole, it was always about helping people. If you see somebody hungry you always feed them. We was raised that way.”
Both father and son clearly have a strong relationship with their religion. But just as importantly, they both have a strong work ethic to make sure that the family and the community can also benefit. Just look no further than the fact that Darby Jr was working 40 hours a week by the time he was 14.
Explaining this in the most simplest terms, Darby Jr revealed: “We were raised to work. My dad was raised to work, my papa was raised to work.”
Due to this, it should probably come as no surprise that the Guillorys managed to find success.
Getting down to business
“A lot of times businessmen and business people all over the world will get involved in their own life and they’ll live a fast, high speed, high pace life and that’s okay,” says Darby Sr. This a great observation from a man who – quite literally – built a business from the ground up.
When Darby Sr decided to breathe fresh life into his dad’s restaurant and establish Famous Foods, he didn’t just change the sign and start welcoming diners from near and far. Instead, he physically rebuilt the original plot because the roof had caved in.
Darby Jr explained: “He had to work four jobs to get the old Famous Foods open. He was still working at Gummy Rewards. He was selling real estate, he was cutting grass, he was working the snow cone stand so he gets enough money to open it up because his daddy died.”
While it’s clear that the project took a lot of hard work and dedication, it seems that Darby Sr wouldn’t turn back the clock and change a thing. In opening Famous Foods, he both celebrated his father’s legacy and ensured a legacy for the family members who would follow him in years to come.
Once again leaning on his faith, Darby Sr explained: “People should really have an internal perspective and think about how really short life is. We only here really a short time and there’s an eternity beyond this life.”
Yes, Famous Food is more than just a restaurant – it’s a family-run business in every sense of the word. It’s not just Darby Sr and his son Darby Jr in the mix, but brothers, sisters, wives and cousins. There’s every reason to believe that this workforce will soon be joined by future generations.
Darby Jr revealed: “My mom and dad are still here, then me and my little brother, my wife, my sister’s just had two, they’re 11 months apart. My missus has got two kids, a boy and a girl. She’d been absent for the last two years because she got pregnant, had the baby, come back to work then got pregnant again.”
Famous Food does more than just benefit those with the surname Guillory. In fact, it does more than just benefit those who eat there. What Darby Sr has built – and what his family will ensure continues – is something that the whole community can enjoy. The business model revolves around giving back and making a difference to people in Southwest Louisiana.
Speaking with pride, Darby Sr revealed: “One of the things we’ll do is, we’ll go out into neighbourhoods and knock on doors and bring out barbecue pits and bring out games and activities for the kids, face painting and just have a neighbourhood block party. Just roll up on the neighbourhood, knock on every door and invite everybody in.”
This is a great gesture of goodwill – and it surely helps that the food is renowned!
The cream of the crop
“People have got to eat” says Darby Jr when talking about what brings diners to Famous Foods. However, there’s a little more to it than just a few random items on a menu.
The Guillorys take pride in their food. You only need to hear the way Darby Jr talks about the restaurant’s heavenly pork roast to understand that.
He describes the process: “You take that pork roast and when you cook it, bacon, you want onions and garlic and your seasoning and then you put it in the oven covered until it’s finished and you take it off. You hit it hard on high for 30, 40 minutes. That top layer of skin will turn just like the crackling, it will start bubbling and that’s our favourite part.”
There’s no question that Darby Jr is enthusiastic about the food on offer. This is not just a dish that he makes, but something he reimagines. Darby Jr – like his father Darby Sr – is proud. The two clearly believe in the products they offer and it’s through this that they’re able to maintain the business in such a way.
From men with such strong faith, it’s fair to say that they have been blessed with the ability to make food that is tasty, affordable and resonates with the community. It’s a skill that has been passed down from generations – sometimes to the point where making the dishes feels almost natural.
When reflecting on the eatery’s popular boudin – which are Creol sausages – Darby Jr said: “[My relatives] didn’t tell me the recipe, didn’t tell me nothing. But I saw it done my whole life so it was just second nature to go do that.”
From past to present
The Guillorys have no problem looking to the past – whether that’s at the family members who came before them or the businesses that preceded Famous Foods. The past is almost a source of motivation to keep them on track and focusing on the things that mean the most to them.
The pair, however, certainly realise that nothing will last forever. For Darby Sr – who admits he is ‘filled with more life than he’s ever been’ his goal now is to maintain his faith in a rapidly changing world.
He said: “My faith has never taken anything from me. It’s only added, quite a bit more, to what I have now. This presence and this eternal future that I know I’m going to experience is beginning already, right now, and it’s going to extend throughout eternity.”
Meanwhile, for Darby Jr – much like his father and his father’s father – he’s now set his sights on maintaining the traditions that mean so much to him. In many ways, this is accomplished through leaning into his Creole identity and setting an example for his children to follow.
He explained: “I try to do everything I can. I tell my kids to go pray in French. I talk to them in French when I’m at the house, or in Creole.”
Unfortunately, for Darby Jr, it’s becoming harder and harder to find others with similar principles to which hi and his father were brought up with. He believes the winds of change are already in motion and people are slowly coming to forget those who became before them.
He shared: “I know times are changing and our generation’s different, but just to go back to what we know and how we was raised. A lot of people are not acting the way we was raised on anything. We was raised a certain way, to be a certain way, to do a certain thing and I guess over time everybody forgot.”
The Guillorys – just like us all – don’t know what lies ahead in their futures. Both father and son have done an incredible job of celebrating the past and making sure that it’s part of the present through Famous Foods.
Now that they’re looking to the future, they’ll continue to cherish faith, family and tradition – and due to this there’s every reason to believe that they’ll find similar levels of success and self-fulfillment.
