Celebrating 35 years, Charley G’s is Lafayette’s go-to restaurant for fine dining, classic cocktails and top-notch service. The restaurant’s wood-grilled fresh seafood, creative entrées and prime steaks keep customers coming back for more. And, its lively piano bar featuring talented local musicians is a fun way to spend the evening.

But, co-founder and namesake, Charlie Goodson, didn’t start as an upscale restaurateur.

Goodson, a Montgomery, Ala. resident, came to Lafayette in 1967 as a student at the University of Southwestern Louisiana (now ULL), while bartending at The Keg. He decided that he liked the service industry much better than studying civil engineering, so he switched to the hospitality industry full-time.

Goodson moved on to manage Uncle Pete’s (now Pete’s), with Jimmy Guidry for two years. Then, he waited tables at Beef & Ale, owned by the late Earl Hebert, a renowned artist. In 1972, Goodson and Hebert partnered up and opened Judge Roy Bean’s, an upscale bar offering casual fare, in a historic inn. The watering hole became so popular that it expanded to a second location in Lake Charles.

After Hebert decided to concentrate on his art, Goodson and Ken “Poncho” Veron launched Café Vermilionville, a fine dining establishment, in Judge Roy Bean’s former location, in 1981. Then, a developer approached the twosome about opening a restaurant on the south side of town. At the time, the oilfield was booming, and businesses were expanding beyond the Oil Center to Ambassador Caffery Parkway.

With the help of a talented designer, the late Spiras Zakas, Goodson and Veron opened a new dining concept, Charley G’s, in 1985. “This was the first project Poncho and I ever were involved in that was built as a designated restaurant,” Goodson explains. The variation in spelling of Charlie’s name was Zakas’ idea for an eye-catching sign on the building.

After toughing out the oil bust, Veron and Goodson decided to separate ownership of Café Vermilionville and Charley G’s, with Goodson keeping his namesake restaurant. Along with his wife, the late Delphine “Del” Ducrest Goodson, Charlie developed the concept – a fine dining spot offering wood-grilled seafood instead of fried fare. Originally, the restaurant had a 1940s art deco vibe.

Charley G’s started with Chef Patrick Mould, who had an idea for a unique gumbo recipe. But, the late Chef Carol Boudreaux took it and ran with it, crafting a Creole-style gumbo with a thick, dark roux, smoked duck and andouille sausage. Customers loved it so much that it is still on the menu 34 years later. Then, Charley G’s hired Holly Goetting, who became one of Lafayette’s first female executive chefs. For the past 17 years, the award-winning chef has created sensational seasonal specialties. Her spin on the Market Catch of the Day is masterful – a recent offering was grilled grouper with panéed eggplant, asparagus, lump crabmeat and mango salsa.

After running the restaurant for over 20 years, Goodson decided to make a change. He approached the late Ed Krampe, a successful McDonald’s owner-operator, for advice. Krampe hooked Goodson up with his son Marc, a culinary-trained chef in Austin, who had just moved back home to Lafayette, and his son-in-law, Jody Ferguson, a former Casa Olé franchise owner. “I decided to bring more youth into the mix,” Goodson says.

In 2012, the trio formed a partnership, Southern Hospitality Kitchens, which now owns Charley G’s, Social Southern Table & Bar, The Tap Room and Pete’s. Under the new group, Charley G’s made a few changes, adding Chef Krampe’s suggestion to change the menu seasonally. In 2013, the restaurant underwent a renovation under the guidance of Zakas’s brother, Peter, converting to a more contemporary atmosphere.

This May, Charley G’s changed its focus to nighttime-only dining with entertainment seven days a week. “It’s the only place in town where you can dine in and listen to music at the piano bar,” Ferguson shares. The restaurant also added some new dishes, like Lobster Scampi and Ora King Salmon, to the menu.

Of course, you can still find fan favorites from the original menu, including the famous Smoked Duck & Andouille Gumbo, Southern Caesar Salad and those fabulous Bechamel Crab Cakes. On the sweets side, in-house pastry Chef Kaylee Ellsworth offers mouth-watering creations like cheesecake topped with Ruston peaches coulis, raspberry-infused crème brulee and milk chocolate panna cotta, along with the always-popular white chocolate bread pudding and Angel’s Cream.

And, the service is always first class, under General Manager Justin Caldwell, who has been with Charley G’s for 12 years, and Sean Hester, with five years under his belt. “We’ve always had a strong service staff,” Goodson says proudly. Coincidentally, server Nathan Robicheaux’s father, Mike, was a bartender at Judge Roy Bean’s.

For Goodson, the secret to Charley G’s long-term success is his love of the business. “It’s not like going to work,” he says. “I couldn’t wait to get to work every day.”