Eight hundred pounds of lasagna doesn’t happen by accident. We sit down with Joey Beyt of Joey’s, a literal Lafayette icon, to hear how a small, family-built meat market turns into what we love calling the city’s “auxiliary kitchen” a place where you can grab prime steaks, sushi-grade seafood, scratch-made soups and gumbos, and a freezer full of comfort food that saves your weeknight dinner. Joey walks us back to opening day, the early hustle, and the hands-on training that shaped his obsession with quality and consistency.

We talk about what makes Joey’s feel like five businesses inside one: a meat and seafood department, deli lunches, prepared foods, catering, plus wine and spirits. Joey shares how the menu grows over time through experimentation and customer demand, from pot pies and stuffed bell peppers to a Mexican lasagna-style casserole, plus the behind-the-scenes reality of food trends like turducken, the rising cost of shipping, and why some products disappear even when you think they’re winners.

Then the story takes a turn into local legend: the move into a building with a surprising past, a massive renovation, and the safe that still hasn’t been opened after 30 years. Along the way, we dig into what keeps a food business alive for decades: long-tenured staff, tight standards, honest feedback from customers, and a genuine love of feeding people. If you care about Lafayette food, Cajun comfort classics, catering in Acadiana, or building a small business that lasts, you’ll get plenty to take with you. Subscribe, share this with a fellow food lover, and leave us a review so more people can find the show.

The podcast was made possible through partnerships with Rouses Supermarket, Logic Refrigeration HVAC, Ounce of Hope, Cajun Table, Vermilionville, Soul Haus Kitchen, Chris Logan Media, and Sunday Soda Fountain – proving that when a community rallies around celebrating local food culture, amazing things happen. Subscribe now to join this delicious adventure and become part of the movement that's transforming Lafayette's food scene one bite at a time!

learn more: foodiesoflafayette.com

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