Bloomingdale Cajun Restaurant to Spice Up Main Street

The flavors of Mardi Gras will be making their way to Bloomingdale this year as the tri-boro's first Cajun restaurant is under construction and planning to open in October.

Yankee Doodle Cajun will be located at 55 Main Street, in the building next to and . Owner Lou Rom, 45, is planning to bring his decade of Cajun cooking experience in Louisiana to the area with a combined restaurant and cooking class room.

Rom, a Vernon Township native and resident, recently moved back to New Jersey after spending time in the Acadiana French Louisiana region. He is a veteran journalist who currently writes about the New York Giants for the sports website Bleacher Report.

Rom learned about Creole food mostly in Lafayette and New Orleans. He spent years working to perfect his gumbo and knew he was doing a decent job when a friend of his asked him to make gumbo for a Christmas party where more than 100 people would be served. Rom then started a restaurant and cooking school, The Accidental Chef, with a partner in Louisiana. He is creating a similar business in New Jersey and bringing the spicy food of the South to because he feels the area residents are ready for something new.

"I look around this part of northern New Jersey and every strip mall, every corner, every block I'm on has a pizza place. There's only so many days a week you can eat pizza and pasta," Rom said.

Rom feels that Passaic County residents' food tastes "are evolving" and that Cajun food is a hot commodity now. He said the location of the restaurant will work well with the food he is serving.

"I feel like Bloomingdale and Passaic County have a really diverse demographic," he said.

Bloomingdale Mayor Jon Dunleavy said he is happy to see new business occupy Main Street.

"I am pleased that new business are entering Bloomingdale. It is important that our residents visit our local establishments to support Main Street growth," he said.

Dunleavy also said the borough is hoping to declare Main Street a redevelopment zone so that more businesses would be interested in the area. Not only does Dunleavy hope to attract businesses to Main Street, but attract businesses that are attractive as well.

"I am excited that once our redevelopment zone is declared on Main Street, this will entice more businesses to invest in our downtown," he said. "Our goal is for 100 percent occupancy in our commercial storefronts. I am hopeful that in the near future, we can help businesses obtain grants to improve building facades to give our downtown a cleaner, more uniform appearance."

Rom said he was also motivated to open the restaurant by his two school-aged children, Isabella and Cole. Rom is a single father raising his kids in New Jersey and his kids grew up in Louisiana.

"The restaurant addresses many goals I have — today, it helps them have pride in and stay connected with a part of the culture they grew up with and I know they miss. In the long run, my hope is that it gives me something to hand down to them, something that no job or freelance gig can do. We love to cook together as a family, and my children, Isabella and Cole, are my biggest fans and are just as excited about this as I am," he said.

The restaurant portion of Yankee Doodle Cajun, which was named for the fondness Rom has for the people of Louisiana, will be based on what Rom called the "Chinese takeout model," meaning each dish will be served with sides such as red beans and rice or jambalaya. In addition to the side, Cajun and Creole dishes and meats, such as smoked brisket and pulled pork, will be served. The restaurant will be open five or six days a week.

About three months after the restaurant opens, Rom is planning to open the cooking demonstration room in the back of the restaurant where patrons can come as singles or couples and watch as chefs prepare a meal. They will learn how the meal is made every step of the way so that they can prepare the dish from their own home. The demonstration room will be open three days a week, with Cajun dishes being cooked at least one of the days.

"I'm going to have guest chefs from all across the country one day a week and then we're going to have a chef once a week who will come in and cook vegan and vegetarian dishes," Rom said.

Rom is working with on an agreement that will involve some of the foods used in the vegan and vegetarian dishes coming from the new Route 23 store.

Rom has been working on his culinary skills for years and has a goal for his new restaurant.

"When Cajuns travel or they go out of state and they happen to visit a Cajun restaurant, they're almost always disappointed," he said. "My objective here is to do real, authentic Cajun food that people from Louisiana would come down and say 'Wow, that's good.'"