Colorado Springs restaurants prep for Mardi Gras 2022

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) - Mardi gras is March 1 — a day to indulge on Fat Tuesday, and after COVID-19 upended the entire restaurant industry over the last two years, Colorado Springs businesses are ready to celebrate with large gatherings for the first time in a while.

Tejon Eatery in downtown Colorado Springs is preparing for what they're calling the 'largest Mardi Gras Party in Downtown Colorado Springs history.' While the party is hosted at Tejon Eatery for the first time, it's in conjunction with Oscars Oyster Bar, which has been putting on Mardi Gras parties for over 20 years.

"It's good to be back, it's good to be able to host events like these again," said Chef Phil Duhon, Managing Partner with Tejon Eatery and Owner of Oscars Oyster Bar. "It's exciting. We had a little stumbling block, but it's really nice to be able to do this. We miss people, so it'll be good to see a big gathering.”

That stumbling block Duhon mentioned, was COVID canceling his last couple of Fat Tuesday parties. But now they're back and bigger than ever, teaming up with Tejon Eatery for cajun food and live entertainment from 11 a.m. until 10 p.m. Tuesday. Live music will also be playing from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m.

"We will be boiling crawfish and shrimp tomorrow," said Duhon. "We're going to be doing combo platters of that. We'll be doing all the Acadiana-Parish-style foods, a lot of catfish platters, the shrimp platters. We'll have oyster platters and will be doing oysters on the half shell. A lot of po’boys, étouffée, gumbos... the hits that everyone's been craving, and we've got some boudin flown in and we'll be doing some boudin as well. So just traditional mom and pop roadside Cajun food."

But Downtown Colorado Springs is not the only place you can find a Mardi Gras party tomorrow. Momma Pearl’s on the north side of town is also gearing up for their biggest day of the year.

"We are going to be doing all of our favorites: the gumbo, étouffée, jambalaya," said Chef Robert Brunet, Executive Chef of Momma Pearl’s Cajun Kitchen. "We'll also have Mardi Gras King Cakes, and we'll have French market beignets, which are the little fried donuts with the sugar on top. Everybody loves those. And of course, we are going to be doing beads, doubloons, masks, and Cajun party music. You know, the whole thing. We want you to feel like you're in the French Quarter."

While Tuesday will be a big day for business, the chefs say the experience is worth more than whatever money they make.

"It's to build long-term relationships with people to build a little bit of return business, and reestablish this local business," said Duhon. "It has a lot of long-term benefits for downtown in general. There's a lot of places down here, and everyone's going to be doing something. We're all in this together. So it would be nice to see people going into privately or locally-owned establishments, whether they're ours or not."

"You know, in the restaurant business, there are a few days that are always busy like Mother's Day, Father's Day, Valentine's Day," said Brunet. "But for us at Momma Pearl's, it's Mardi Gras Day. When you come to Momma Pearl's, you're not going to leave hungry, you're going to be satisfied and you're going to know that you've got the real deal. I mean, I grew up in New Orleans. My family is a sixth-generation in Louisiana, and this is all food that we've cooked for years. Traditional recipes. Everybody really loves the fact that we do Momma's cooking here. It's nothing fancy, but it's always good."