About
Portrait of Stephen
I'm a designer and restaurant owner from Lafayette, Louisiana. I've always believed the best part of a restaurant isn't just the food or the room. It's the people in it.
I've spent twelve years designing and consulting for restaurants. In November 2018, I opened Spoonbill Watering Hole & Restaurant in a restored Conoco station in downtown Lafayette. I designed the room, built the team, and ran the floor.
In 2020, the James Beard Foundation nominated Spoonbill for Outstanding Restaurant Design. It's been featured in Southern Living, Garden & Gun, Louisiana Cookin', Louisiana Life, and New Orleans Magazine.
Some of our staff stayed eight years, which in this industry is almost unheard of. That didn't happen by accident. It came from how we hired, how we trained, how we talked to each other before every shift, and how we treated our regulars like family.
Hospitality Hospitality exists to be the outside eyes I always wanted: someone who has run the floor, knows design, and will tell you the truth kindly. The name is on purpose. Hospitality so nice you say it twice.