A stretch of N. MacArthur Blvd that once served tacos now dishes out gumbo and boudin egg rolls. Bayou & Barrel opened in June 2026 at 9120 N. MacArthur Blvd. in northwest Oklahoma City, the site of a former Taqueria El Camino, serving up Louisiana-inspired Cajun and Creole cuisine from a chef who spent three decades building his name in OKC kitchens.
The restaurant is the work of chef Chris McKenna, who grew up in Edmond and decided in 2026 to convert the MacArthur and Britton taqueria into a full-fledged Cajun concept, according to News 9. McKenna and business partner Richard Ly purchased the property in 2025 and overhauled the building before the official June 2026 launch, according to The Oklahoman. Trenton O'Neal serves as co-owner alongside McKenna, per the station's report.
A Chef's Long Road to Louisiana Flavors
McKenna has worked in the Oklahoma City restaurant scene for more than 30 years, and before Bayou & Barrel he built his résumé as executive chef at Packard's New American Kitchen, Stella Modern Italian Cuisine, Oso on Paseo, and The Joinery in Bricktown, according to Oklahoma Magazine. His culinary style traces back to hands-on farm experience on his grandparents' property in Guthrie and early guidance from his mother, as reported by 405 Magazine. McKenna has said he wanted to end his career cooking Cajun food, and told News 9 that Bayou & Barrel combines Louisiana with Oklahoma.
Cajun cooking carries French influence, while its Creole component draws on African influence, the station notes. That blend shows up across the menu, which currently focuses on dinner service with dishes including blackened redfish, chicken and sausage gumbo, and crawfish étouffée. Bayou & Barrel plans to add Saturday and Sunday brunch, per the same account.
The Dishes Winning Over Louisiana Transplants
One of the most popular items on the menu is blackened redfish with crawfish étouffée, while boudin sausage egg rolls — filled with boudin sausage and cheese wrapped in an egg roll — have also become a signature offering. Boudin itself is a sausage made with pork, rice, and spices in a natural casing. The menu also includes catfish Pontchartrain and hush puppy sticks, and McKenna recommends bread pudding with whiskey caramel sauce for dessert.
Co-owner Trenton O'Neal says Louisiana natives now living in Oklahoma have taken notice, visiting the restaurant regularly two or three times a week. The reception overall has been very well received, according to News 9's report. Beyond the dining room, Bayou & Barrel's online ordering menu lists happy hour specials including $9 boudin egg rolls, $10 hot honey Brussels sprouts, $6 hush puppies, and $4 liquor shots, according to the restaurant's Toast ordering page.
Expanding Reach and Local Competition
Shortly after opening, Bayou & Barrel launched on delivery platforms including Uber Eats, extending its reach across northwest Oklahoma City for diners who want the food without leaving home, according to the Uber Eats listing. The MacArthur Blvd property was previously developed by Happy Plate Concepts and sits directly next to Sunnyside Diner at 9148 N. MacArthur Blvd., placing the new restaurant within an established northwest OKC dining cluster, according to a local food newsletter.
McKenna and Ly aren't stopping at one concept. The pair also partnered in 2026 to open Kaizume, a French-Japanese sushi fusion restaurant in Uptown Oklahoma City, according to Oklahoma Gazette — a sign of the chefs' expanding footprint across two very different corners of the city's dining scene. Bayou & Barrel also enters a Cajun and Creole market that already includes long-running Warr Acres institution Cajun King and the multi-location Cajun Corner chain on Council Road and NW 23rd Street. Hoodline previously rounded up the city's top Cajun and Creole picks back in 2019, before Bayou & Barrel entered the picture.
The Economics Behind a New Restaurant Bet
Opening a new independent restaurant in Oklahoma comes with real financial stakes. The state supports more than 7,300 eating places, and every dollar spent at local food service businesses generates an additional $1.60 to $1.79 in economic activity statewide, according to the Oklahoma Restaurant Association. Operators have also been navigating debate this year over State Question 832, a ballot initiative opposed by the Oklahoma Restaurant Association that proposed gradually raising the state minimum wage to $15 per hour, as detailed by the Oklahoma Council of Public Affairs. Against that backdrop, a 30-year kitchen veteran betting on a completely new cuisine in a former taqueria stands out as a notable gamble in the northwest OKC dining scene.
