Kelly’s Diner in Opelousas, Louisiana Re-Opening for To-Go Orders Only After Tuesday Night Fire
Kelly's Country Meat Block and Diner may have had a setback after a Tuesday night fire resulted in a "total loss" of the kitchen, according to the restaurant's Facebook account, but they will still be opening Thursday morning.
A post on the Facebook page for Kelly's Diner updated customers and fans Wednesday evening, letting them know that the butchery side of the business will be open and that plate lunches will continue on a to-go basis for the time being.
The Tuesday night fire was quickly responded to by Opelousas police and firefighters, and while it was contained, the diner's kitchen suffered a lot of damage, the page mentioned in a reply to one of their original post's comments.
However, the establishment did say in its original post that they planned to be "up and running ASAP," which they are apparently doing.
See more from the original story of the fire below.
ORIGINAL STORY
A popular diner in Opelousas is having to shut down after an overnight fire damaged the establishment. However, the business is telling its fans not to worry, because they'll be back as soon as they can be.
Kelly's Diner, located on S. Union Street, posted the update around 10 p.m. on Tuesday night.
"Our little Diner will be out of commission for a while," they posted to Facebook. "Praise God it wasn’t worse than this!!! Everyone is ok!!"
The post concluded with the promise that "We will be up and running ASAP!"
In the comments, Kelly's Diner says the kitchen suffered the heaviest damage and was a loss.
Fans online are certainly sad to see that the diner will be closed for any amount of time.
"So sorry to hear this," one person said. "If we can help in any way let us know!!"
"Oh no," another commented. "Glad no one was hurt. Hope y'all get it back up and running. We love Kelly's."
According to the Facebook Page, the kitchen being a total loss is a major setback. Their plan is to get the meat block side of the business up and running quickly while the diner's kitchen is being worked on. The problem, they replied to one comment, is that there is soot from the fire everywhere that has to be cleaned.
Kelly's Country Meat Block and Diner
Kelly's is a 2-in-1 business, with the diner being half and a meat block being the other. According to their Facebook Page:
Kelly's Diner has been family owned and operated by Kelly and Elaine Cormier for thirty-three years. All of the recipes have been developed by Elaine Cormier and Cindy Leger, who manages the diner. The menu consists of classic Cajun cuisine with a focus on creating home cooked meals using specialty meats provided by the Meat Market attached to the diner. This "hole in the wall" is a staple of Louisiana's former capital city as many of the guests return day after day to sit and enjoy home cooked Cajun meals such as: red beans and sausage, smothered steak, crawfish fettuccini, crawfish étouffée, fried pork chops, corn and crab soup, gumbo, various po' boys (e.g. fried shrimp, fried oysters, roast beef, etc.), and our ultra popular barbecue plate lunches consisting of chicken, beef brisket, pork-steak and pork ribs that are all marinated in Mrs. Elaine's homemade barbecue sauce. The friendly atmosphere and soulful Cajun food provide guests with a diner to walk in and feel right at home.
Kelly's is a very popular dining spot in Opelousas, with tons of fans in and around the area. It is routinely highly rated among its fans. It averages 4.6 out of 5 stars on Google, and 4.8 out of 5 on Facebook.
"Everything I’ve ever eaten at Kelly’s was awesome," one customer wrote. "Everyone was so very nice and friendly and the restaurant was very clean!!! Highly recommended Kelly’s Diner!"