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Hurricane Katrina families serve up faith and food in the Hill Country
A group of families in the Hill Country escaped Hurricanes Katrina and Rita 15 years ago. They found shelter and help in Texas. So, they built a life here.
MARBLE FALLS, Texas — Inside the Real New Orleans Restaurant in Marble Falls, the staff serves up faith and good authentic Cajun food. You don’t have to look far to know the people there have survived their share of storms.
“We came up because of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Amazingly, this year would be 15 years of us evacuating from those two storms,” said Erin LeGier, the head chef at the Real New Orleans Restaurant.
LeGier remembers it like it was yesterday. His family was one of 50 that escaped Louisiana together with little more than the clothes on their backs.
Their story fills the walls of the restaurant.
“We had a church, a school, a restaurant, I had my own home in New Orleans. Everything was underwater. We lost possessions, but we didn’t lose people,” June Lemon said.
Lost and worried, they found hope in the Hill Country.
“The Hill Country just embraced us,” LeGier said. “And we are a diverse group, predominantly African American. We came to the Hill Country not knowing what to expect, but they received us with open arms.”
Families donated items to help get them back on their feet, and the schools admitted their children knowing they couldn’t find their paperwork. They eventually built a church and opened their restaurant – bringing a taste of New Orleans to Marble Falls.
“Texas was amazing!” LeGier said.
COVID-19 has presented its share of challenges too. They have held fast to their faith, opened a drive-thru window and are grateful for the people who continue to support them.
“You realize what’s important. It’s not things. Material things can be replaced, people cannot,” LeGier said.
This week, as they near the 15th anniversary of their escape and another storm churns off the Gulf Coast, they worry about all those in its path.
“It’s eerie to watch,” Lemon said.
These families were offered so much help when they moved to Texas. It’s the kind of help they hope to offer others forced to evacuate here during Hurricane Laura. They call that the “taste of Texas.”
“That’s the testimony of going through storms of life like this. ‘This didn’t just happen to me. It was so that I can help somebody else,'” LeGier said.