Repeat orders or something new daily for avid customers

It’s hard to miss the thematic ambiance of Duffy’s Diner, and the reason many choose to go there day after day. The menu is diverse enough to eat there daily and still not run out of favorites. Whether you are a sandwich person — have your hamburger on French bread if you want something different, or choose grilled or fried chicken or seafood. Looking for taco night? You guessed it, the taco salad is a regular on the menu as is Frito chilli pie. Maybe it’s Italian you’re thinking of? Don’t worry, the pasta dish is a stand by as is crawfish etouffee, club sandwiches hot dogs, chicken fried steak and more.

Long before I went into Duffy’s, it was a common place for locals to eat. Can’t go wrong with the diner fair that started as an offshoot of a snow cone stand. The two co-owners started out working as teenage friends, built the property and name since the mid-1980s and are now enjoying the fruits of their labor — the next generation of food entrepreneurs.

Stopping in for lunch this week, we missed meeting both owners in person, but mom Wendy Mouton was doing what she should be at Christmas with her daughter in New Orleans. Shopping. Through a busy working lunch and long distance, the story is on-going with no plans for stopping.

Where did you start out to build Duffy’s Diner?

Brent Migues was 19, I (Mouton) was 16 when he said, “I want to be my own boss.” He worked at Freezo snowball stand and started expanding the menu during the winter months to add to sales. After working the salt mine and another business, In 1985, an opportunity came to rent Duck’s Drive-In on Center Street where they operated for 13 years, said a 2009 article in The Daily Iberia commemorating 25 years in business. The location at 1106 Center Street opened more than 20 years ago.

What is your secret to success?

Dedication, patience, pride of work, most people these days want instant gratification and don’t have the patience to let something grow. We’ve been at this a long time.

You and Brent were married part of your lives together at Duffy’s, and have two daughters together. Does food carry a common bond?

Our daughter Nikki Migues is a graduate of the Nichols State Chef John Folse Culinary School. She is a pastry chef at the Ritz-Carlton on Canal Street in New Orleans. She went to work as a waitress at Duffy’s when he was 15- or 16-years-old but it was her grandmother who got her interested in baking. Both of our daughters, Kaley Migues and Nikki, are creative.

Duffy’s seems to be a generational restaurant, would you agree?

Oh yes. Cathy Williams is our oldest employee and was working there when the parents of one of our waitresses, Gabby, and her brother who works in the kitchen, met at Duffy’s. They all worked here for a time. Williams said it is not unusual to serve grandchildren of people she has known for years.

Most people in the restaurant business think to make a living you have to serve alcohol, but that’s not the case at Duffy’s. What is popular?

We serve only Coca-Cola products. Brent has a sister in Atlanta and they have a big Coca-Cola store there. Anytime we find something unique, we’ve bought it for the decor.

Is there a favorite menu item for your customers?

“Not really,” said Jackie Touchet, a 19-year veteran waitress and office administrator. “There’s such a variety. We have some people that come in day after day and order something different every time they come in. We have salads, fried or grilled seafood, just about anything you name. We also have stews and crawfish etouffee.”

About the only thing they don’t have is boiled seafood, but then during the interview the fragrance of seafood boil wafted into the dining area. Cooks were boiling shrimp for salad. We didn’t start talking about dessert, but a root beer Frosty is a childhood favorite. Original shakes and malts are as popular as they were before Duffy’s opened. And let’s not forget those cute convertible car plates for children of all ages, when requested, for small ones otherwise.