Mama Pearl's Cajun Kitchen, which has been serving up Cajun fare like po'boys, jambalaya, crawfish and gumbo for over a decade, has closed its Colorado Springs location.
Owner Robert Brunette, known as “BB Chef,” announced the restaurant's closure in a Facebook post this week, citing financial difficulties.
“Despite our best efforts to adapt to the numerous economic challenges we have faced, the past few months have been especially difficult,” Brunet said on his Facebook page. “Increasing food, labor and property tax costs, combined with a significant decline in attendance, have made it impossible for us to continue operating.”
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Brunet's Facebook post also appeared to blame the White House for the restaurant's troubles, with the headline “Mama Pearl's Cajun Kitchen Closed” and a photo of a smiling President Joe Biden pointing at a closure notice and the words “I did it.”
A few years ago, critics of President Biden placed similar “I did it” stickers on gas pumps at gas stations across the country, depicting the president pointing out gas prices as a way to suggest that he was to blame for high gas prices.
Bluenet's post also included the catchphrase “LET'S GO BRANDON!!!”, which conservative critics have used as a three-word code word for a profane attack on Biden.
The Facebook post was met with congratulations from supporters who lamented Mama Pearl's closure but enjoyed the food and service, some of whom appeared to support Bruenette's political stance.
“Robbie, I'm sorry,” one Facebook commenter told Brunette. “We need Donald J. Trump. God bless you and your family.”
But on at least one other social media site, commenters slammed Brunet for targeting Biden and said the restaurant owner should take responsibility for his struggling business.
“Just the other day I heard Joe Biden himself say, 'Fuck Mama Pearl's Cajun Kitchen in Colorado Springs,' so I'm pretty sure he's to blame,” one commenter quipped on Reddit. “Dirk Brandon is at it again!! Is there any mid-level restaurant owner he wouldn't personally take down?”
Brunette and his wife, Becky, who co-owns the restaurant, could not be reached for further comment.
The Brunettes opened Mama Pearl's – named for Robert's mother, Pearl – in Colorado Springs' northwest Rockrimmon neighborhood in 2013. In 2020, they moved the business to the Polaris Point development on the city's burgeoning northside, home to dozens of shops, restaurants and entertainment options.
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In a three-and-a-half-minute video posted to Facebook in late December, Robert Brunette outlined the issues restaurants are facing and appealed for the public's help.
He said when Mama Pearl's moved to Polaris Point in 2020, the restaurant had more than 30 employees and served 1,000 diners a week, but business took a hit after the COVID-19 pandemic began.
Since then, customer traffic has returned to normal, but business never returned to pre-pandemic levels, Bruenette said in a December video. Still, Mama Pearl's has been able to stay open, Bruenette said.
But in the months leading up to December, Mama Pearl's and many other independent eateries “experienced a decline in sales the likes of which we've never seen before,” Brunet said.
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“Attendance is down to less than 30 percent of normal levels for this time of year,” he said. “We can only speculate on the causes of the recent downturn, including high inflation, economic turmoil, geopolitical uncertainty, not to mention the proliferation of fast food and chain restaurants, which continues to shrink the city's culinary market.”
Bluenet said he was forced to take on duties such as cook, dishwasher and daytime dining room server because the restaurant's revenues were not enough to support those positions, and Becky was forced to take on “second jobs” to cover the couple's personal expenses.
“I haven't even received my salary since August of this year,” he said in December.
He also said the recession puts the restaurant's future at risk and urged customers to come back.
According to a 2022 Gazette profile of the couple, Becky, a Louisiana native, worked in computer technology and hospitality, and Becky also worked in the hospitality industry.
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After Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans in 2005, the Brunettes moved to Colorado Springs, where Robert started a home-chef business, cooking Cajun dinners in homeowners' homes, according to a Gazette profile. He later opened Mama Pearl's Cajun Kitchen.
In 2021, Mama Pearl's was the subject of a Food Network reality show, “Restaurant Impossible,” in which she helps renovate struggling eateries (often with new décor and revised menus) and restore them to profitability and recognition.
“This restaurant is our life,” Roberts told The Gazette in a feature story in 2022. “We don't have a 401(k) plan or savings left. We've had to live off those for a long time. Now the restaurant is our future. What I always tell my kids is, 'The only time you fail is if you quit.' And I'm not quitting.”
