From the purple, gold and green decorations to the smell of beignets frying in the back, this restaurant has everything someone would expect to find in the French Quarter. And that’s exactly what the Donavon family wanted to deliver to the local community.

“It’s always been a passion of mine. I’m from New Orleans, and I wanted to open a restaurant of our own one day,” Jack Donavon says. “I wanted to bring a little bit of New Orleans to Birmingham.”

His wife, Michelle, grew up in Natchez, Miss., so she was also surrounded by fresh seafood. The couple moved to Alabama from New Orleans 18 years ago and now live in Chelsea with their three children: Jack Jr., Ashleigh, and Carson.

So to get back to their home roots, they decided to create a taste of home in Shelby County with Cajun Boys & Our Poboys, located in Pelham on Highway 52 W.