Karl Boudreaux knows what it takes to run a restaurant — and though it’s not easy, he still loves it.

As the former owner of Fromage, a gourmet grilled cheese spot in New Iberia, Boudreaux, now the manager of Jane’s Seafood, has used his past experiences to help make Jane’s one of the top dining places in the Teche Area.

But for Boudreaux, running a restaurant means long hours and dedication to helping make a restaurant the best it can be.

“It’s a lot of work,” Boudreaux said. “I can tell you that for sure.”

Boudreaux has been working at Jane’s Seafood for 16 years and still loves the process.

Boudreaux, 32, started as a server at Jane’s Seafood before eventually transitioning into their manager position and loves the relationship he has with the owners — the Trans — as they treat him like family.

“It’s pretty nice,” Boudreaux said. “They are amazing people to work for and they actually do care about their employees and want to help us out.”

Boudreaux already had a relationship established with Jane’s Seafood, as his mom worked there in the 1990s, and one day Vu Tran, now the owner of Jane’s Seafood, asked Boudreaux if he’d be interested in a job there. He did and hasn’t looked back since.

“I never left,” Boudreaux joked.

The day-to-day duties start off early for Boudreaux, who usually shows up at 8 a.m., starting off with kitchen prep and receiving deliveries and doing kitchen inventories.

“I do scheduling, a little bit of banking,” Boudreaux said. “I just make sure everything is clean and ready to go for the coming shifts.”

And that’s just the mornings for Boudreaux He returns after lunch for the rest of his shift, making sure everyone stays on task with their jobs.

“I play a part pretty much in every section at work,” Boudreaux said. “From the hostess to the kitchen, just making sure everybody is doing their tasks and lending out a helping hand wherever I can.

It’s a job he loves, and he’s there at least 15 hours a day and six days a week.

Being at a particular place like Jane’s Seafood for half of his life, Boudreaux said it’s easy to come into work day in day out for these past 16 years.

“Being that they treat me so well, I love it,” Boudreaux said. “It helps you want to come into work every day.”

Boudreaux also cited the appreciation he receives from the owners for all of the hard work he does each and every day he is there.

For Boudreaux, it’s a career, and he is always thinking about the restaurant. He said this is the place he wants to be and has no plans to leave Jane’s Seafood.

“When I have days off, I am thinking about the restaurant,” Boudreaux said. “It’s almost like it’s a part of me and it would be hard to leave.”