Franki Osborn smiles as she eats crawfish at Circle M Crawfish in Big Sandy, Texas, on Friday, Jan. 11, 2019. (Chelsea Purgahn/Tyler Morning Telegraph)

“You haven’t seen anything yet,” Luke says of the restaurant’s increasingly festive atmosphere. “In a couple of hours this place will be packed. There won’t be an empty seat. It gets crazy.”

And that’s the way he likes it. 

“It’s sort of another culture in here,” he says. “You eat crawfish, chug some beer, wipe your hands on your pants and don’t worry about things. Laissez le bon temps rouler.”

Big Business

Crawfish look like miniature lobsters, beady little eyes, big claws and all. Most crawfish come from the bayous, swamps and marshes of the Atchafalaya Basin in southern Louisiana.

They burrow in the silt at the bottom of waterways to lay eggs during the coldest months and emerge when the water temperature hits about 50 degrees. Louisiana farmers produce 130 to 150 million pounds of crawfish each year pumping millions into the state’s economy, according to Louisiana State University’s AgCenter. 

In no time, he was selling hundreds of pounds of crawfish each weekend. “I was selling it as fast as I could bring it in.”

Luke came across space in downtown Mineola that he envisioned as a perfect site for a crawfish and restaurant, even though it was a little more than a courtyard with a few picnic tables. 

“I worked out a deal with the owner right there on the spot,” Luke says. He left a secure job working in information technology, drained his savings and opened Claw Daddy’s.

“It took off right away,” Luke says. Claw Daddy’s was open Thursday through Sunday. Luke did most of the cooking. When crawfish weren’t in season, he sold fried fish and seafood.

“A lot of the time, we would have 200 come through a night. The line would be out the door and down the block. It was like a big party,” Luke says. “I wanted it to have the same atmosphere of the backyard crawfish boils in Louisiana.”

Luke started a tradition at Claw Daddy’s of serving a free Thanksgiving Day meal to those who couldn’t be with their family or would have to do without. He raised the money by selling fried turkeys. 

The first year dozens of volunteers helped prepare the meal and donated side dishes and desserts. About 200 came out for the free food. The next year the crowd was even bigger.

Last year, Luke jumped at the chance to buy Circle M Crawfish, a larger restaurant in Big Sandy. Longtime owner Rodney Murphy sold the restaurant to concentrate on a crawfish distribution business.

Luke closed Claw Daddy’s and took over Circle M.

“When he (Rodney) started it, it was just this little trailer on the side of the road,” Luke says. “Then he added a few picnic tables outside.”

“Before finishing construction of the first indoor seating with a sawdust floor, the tables were already full. The rest is history,” reads a story about the joint on Circle M’s menu.

Since taking over, Luke has added a drive-thru beer and crawfish barn and an indoor waiting area. 

During the busiest times, all 700 seats in Circle M are filled and people wait to get in.

“They park in the ditches, they park along the highway, they park everywhere,” Luke says of the loyal clientele.  

On a good night, Circle M serves over 2,000 pounds of crawfish.

“One night we ran of out early. I told the customers that another shipment was on the way but wouldn’t be here for another four hours. They stayed the whole time. They wanted it that bad.” 

Besides crawfish, Circle M sells brisket and chicken tacos, shrimp, crab, oysters, frog legs, burgers and catfish. Crawfish are sold by the pound and come with corn and potatoes.

Luke continues to serve a free Thanksgiving meal. Last year, about 700 people enjoyed the turkey dressing and side dishes.

“We make money 364 days of the year. There’s no reason why we can’t not make money one day,” Luke told the Tyler Morning Telegraph.

He put out paper and pins on the tables so those taking part could share what they were thankful for.

Good Times

“You’ve got to see this,” Luke says back in the bar.

He points to Ro Russell, a Circle M regular wearing a tank top, faded jeans and cowboy boots. 

“Do it!” says Luke. 

At first Ro is reluctant, but with boisterous encouragement from fellow bar patrons, she gets up from her seat and steps back a few feet. In an amazing burst, she leaps forward and kicks her leg high over head ringing the cow bell with her boot. 

The bar patrons go wild.

“Hey, that’s a free beer,” calls out one of the patrons.

At first Luke argues that Ro did it for the magazine photographer present. Then he announces that this round is on the house. 

The patrons go wild.