Although a location has not been secured, Tre’Vione’s, a cajun restaurant with a location in Hawesville, will be expanding into Owensboro.
“As sure as the sun rises, we will have a location in Owensboro,” said George Banks, owner of Tre’Vione’s.
Banks told Owensboro Times that he currently looking in the Wesleyan Park Plaza area, considering the former Pizzaroma location as well as the former Ponderosa and El Toribio location, which offer different spaces for Tre’Vione’s.
“If I go with the old Pizzaroma, the restaurant will be identical to my Hawesville location,” Banks said. “If I go with the old Ponderosa building, I can have a larger menu because of more food storage and make it feel like you are walking into a New Orleans restaurant.”
Banks said his Hawesville location has proven successful since its May opening, with many loyal customers traveling from Owensboro.
“It’s flattering that people travel 30 to 45 minutes to eat at Tre’Vione’s, especially when you have so many good restaurants in Owensboro,” he said.
Banks and his family opened the first restaurant Tre’Vione’s location opened in New Orleans in 2007.
Originally from New Orleans, Banks said it is a privilege to bring food from home to Kentucky. After retiring from Ft. Knox, Banks didn’t return to New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina “left the city in shambles.”
Coming from a family that excels in cooking, he chose to stay in Kentucky and open additional Tre’Vione’s locations. He chose Hawesville as his first location to start out slow, using the 150-seat restaurant as a “training facility” for his employees.
“This food is different,” he said. “Customers want to know the difference between jambalaya and gumbo. What is étouffée?”
Banks hopes to open his Owensboro location in January 2020, before Mardi Gras.
“It’s not even a question of if I’m going to put a restaurant in Owensboro, just a matter of where,” he said.
