After east side restaurant closes, KC Cajun drives back to its food truck roots, cooking up a new market

Esra England is hitting the streets again, he shared.

The head chef and founder of KC Cajun recently closed his fixed location on the east side, and is returning to the food truck and catering strategy that gave him his start.

Diners view the menu at the KC Cajun food truck across from the Jackson County Courthouse in downtown Kansas City; photo by Nikki Overfelt Chifalu, Startland News

“It was a good learning experience,” England explained. “But with the overhead of trying to run the brick and mortar — with the food costs, labor issues [retaining staff], and labor costs — it just became too much.”

KC Cajun — which England started as a catering company in 2016 and grew into a food truck in 2018 — opened its first physical restaurant in May 2022 on East 27th St. 

He signed the lease for the restaurant and started renovating it right when the pandemic started, England recalled.

“One big thing I learned — when I was going through the planning process — it took so long with COVID, and by the time I got this running, the plan I had going into it needed to change,” he said. “But I was too far invested in here to try to change it.”

“We’ve had major challenges,” England continued. “I realized it’s a matter of being resilient. It’s kind of in my character. If you don’t have that, it’s not an easy man’s game.”

Unfortunately, he noted, the end of the restaurant also halts his vision for the project serving as the catalyst for greater investment in the east side community. He had plans to start a nonprofit cooking school for high school students.

“It’s sad that I can’t really do as much as I wanted to do in the community,” he added.

But England — who also sells a line of seasonings that can be found online and at The Black Pantry — isn’t letting this setback stop him, he shared. Now that he doesn’t have to juggle concerns at the brick-and-mortar space, he can again focus on the food truck and catering business. Outside of private bookings, he plans to park his truck at First Fridays, plus other spots across the city like around the Jackson County Courthouse and Hospital Hill during the lunch rush.

Click here to find the KC Cajun truck schedule.

Fried shrimp po’ boy from KC Cajun; photo by Nikki Overfelt Chifalu, Startland News

With his renewed focus on the food truck, England plans to add a couple new menu options soon, including an alligator corn dog.

“We’re doing an alligator sausage with a spicy corn dog batter and we’ll have a nice dipping sauce with it,” he explained.

He also aims to bring back a few menu items like cajun pizza and nachos, plus add his pasta to the food truck lineup.

“Basically, we took all the top sales we were having (at the restaurant) and combined it with top sales on the truck and fused the menu together,” he explained. “Then we were doing daily specials, as well.”

Chef Esra England, KC Cajun; photo by Nikki Overfelt Chifalu, Startland News

England has moved his headquarters to the Mid-Continent Public Library Culinary Center at the Green Hills Library Center. There, he teaches classes in the kitchen, including a curriculum around starting a food truck business.

He’s sad to lose his headquarters in the heart of the city, he said, but moving to The Culinary Center will allow the Mississippi native to introduce his Cajun food — with a Midwest twist — to the Northland community.

“It’s an opportunity to find us a new market,” he continued.

In the future, England doesn’t plan on opening another restaurant, he noted, but he could see himself partnering with a bar to provide KC Cajun food from their kitchen. He’d also like to invest in a trailer, so he can travel to communities further outside the KC metro area.

“I’m really hopeful about the future,” England added.

The post After east side restaurant closes, KC Cajun drives back to its food truck roots, cooking up a new market appeared first on Startland News.