New Orleans restaurant and bakery

Many people have a dream of opening a restaurant someday. This venture is not one to take lightly, and it can be difficult, especially in the current world we are living in. However, two people have done just that, opening not one, but two establishments in the last year right here in St. Joseph. Those businesses are a new restaurant, Krewe, and a new bakery, Flour and Flower.

Started by Erin Lucas and Mateo Mackbee, they both entered this venture recently, with Krewe opening on July 1 of this year, and Flour and Flower opening on May 21. Krewe is a restaurant inspired by New Orleans cuisine and Mackbee’s deep New Orleans roots on his mother’s side of the family.

According to Lucas, Mackbee’s grandfather worked on a cargo ship traveling from New Orleans to Africa and back, which is where many of the recipes he uses originated from. Flour and Flower is a French-inspired bakery.

“My dream from a young age was to combine a bakery & Flower shop selling pastries, flowers and other baked goods that incorporated edible flowers,” Lucas said via text. These respective businesses were dreams for both of them.

“These places are our hearts and souls; they are who we are in food form,” Lucas said. This sentiment is clear from the amount of passion that they have poured into these businesses, and from the food that they make. Two specific dishes hold lots of memories for them.

“Grandpa’s gumbo holds a special place in Mateo’s heart because his grandfather’s recipe is not common…that is what he grew up on,” Lucas said.

As for her favorite dish, bread pudding is at the top of her list. It is a dish that her grandmother made, although she was not a fan of the way her grandmother made it. Eventually, Mackbee’s mom showed Lucas her own recipe, which reinvigorated Erin’s love for the dish.

Although they are living out their dreams, COVID-19 has definitely made their opening something out of the ordinary.

“The pandemic has definitely thrown in a curve ball, but we think that it was a blessing to open during the heat of it because we didn’t have to reinvent our business structure and it was a great way to ease into the grand opening,” Lucas said.

Not only have they started up these new businesses, but they have also built a one-acre farm in Paynesville, MN, where they are starting to bring students, to help learn about farming and agriculture through Model Citizen.

This is another one of their main missions for their businesses. They want to “educate youth through food.”