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First Friday of Lent brings seafood rush to Capital Area restaurants
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BATON ROUGE — The first Friday of Lent is here, and seafood restaurants across the Capital Area are gearing up for one of their busiest stretches of the year.
For many restaurants, the 40-day Lenten season can bring a struggle to keep up with surging demand as customers skip meat on Fridays and turn to seafood instead.
“It’s been building for weeks,” said Billy Nungesser. “You saw it for the last several weeks through Mardi Gras, preparing for this.”
The seasonal tradition packs dining rooms across South Louisiana. At Mike Anderson's Seafood, General Manager Michael Pearl says the crowds are noticeable.
“During the Lenten season, we do see an extra crowd of people,” Pearl said.
Even for a restaurant that specializes in seafood year-round, preparation ramps up significantly. Pearl says the staff may “order double the load” to meet demand, noting that on Fridays, “at least 90 percent of the people who come in will order seafood."
That kind of volume requires careful planning and inventory management, including “making sure we have enough seafood on hand,” Pearl said.
However, sourcing much of their product locally can present challenges.
“Sometimes you can have shortages because everybody’s getting it,” he said.
State leaders say the Lenten rush doesn’t just benefit restaurants, it fuels the entire seafood industry. Nungesser, who oversees the Louisiana Seafood Promotion and Marketing Board, says seafood sales increase by more than 20 percent during Lent.
“It’s a boost to the local economy,” Nungesser said. “Obviously, just by the amount of people going out and eating at seafood restaurants.”
From shrimp and crawfish to oysters and gulf fish, consumption rises across the board. Nungesser says Louisiana’s strong supply helps keep prices competitive for customers.
“There's an abundance of good seafood here in Louisiana, and that helps keep the prices affordable,” he said.
Nungesser also noted that recent regulations on imported seafood have led more businesses to choose local products, keeping money in Louisiana and offering diners fresher options during one of the industry’s busiest seasons.
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