Blu Cajun, a new Vietnamese-Cajun seafood spot, quietly swung open its doors on Friday, June 26, settling into a small storefront on Zane Avenue in Brooklyn Park. The kitchen turns out big, heavily spiced seafood boils, with crawfish, crab legs, lobster and oysters alongside fried favorites meant for sharing. Co-owner Mai Pham says the menu leans on Louisiana-style heat with Vietnamese touches, and the team is aiming to become a gathering place for a neighborhood that lost a nearby cafe earlier this winter.
A Vietnamese Take on a Louisiana Boil
Speaking with CCX Media, co-owner Mai Pham explained that "we bring a little bit of Louisiana-style food with a very great mix of Vietnamese-style in there," name-checking crawfish, lobster, crab legs and oysters as headliners. The same report notes that Blu Cajun backs up its boils with fried plates such as chicken wings and french fries, for anyone who prefers their seafood with a side of crunch.
City Sign-offs and Permits
Brooklyn Park's meeting materials show the city set a public hearing for June 22 to consider an on-sale wine and 3.2 malt liquor license for Blu Cajun at the Zane Avenue address. According to the City of Brooklyn Park, that hearing and related licensing items were on the agenda, and those filings suggest the owners were moving through neighborhood permitting in the weeks leading up to the late June opening.
From Crumbs and Coffee to Blu Cajun
The storefront previously housed Crumbs and Coffee, which closed in December after federal immigration agents detained an employee in an enforcement action tied to Operation Metro Surge. WCCO covered the incident and described how the raid and its aftermath rattled small restaurants across the metro, leaving a noticeable void in this particular strip until Blu Cajun moved in.
Menu and the Local Scene
Blu Cajun's specialty platters, described as heaping piles of crab, shrimp, sausage, potatoes and corn doused in bold spice, are built for sharing, and the kitchen also sends out fried sides, per CCX Media. The opening lands in the middle of a broader Twin Cities appetite for Viet-Cajun and boil-style seafood that both national and local writers have been highlighting; Smithsonian Magazine has pointed to area spots that blend Vietnamese technique with Cajun flavors.
Blu Cajun is open now, serving shareable platters with spice levels that range from mild to fierce. Neighbors can expect more updates as the owners settle into the space and roll into regular service this summer.
