Get some Crawfish on the Geaux

Mitch Hopkins is a former LSU baseball player whose career was sidelined after major shoulder injuries and surgeries. After months of rehab, Hopkins took a break from school and the pitching mound, turning his attention to the family business: crawfish.

Two weeks ago, Hopkins opened Crawfish on the Geaux, a small trailer that boils crawfish daily in the parking lot of the Acadian Perkins Plaza Shopping Center.

“My father has been in the crawfish business for 30 years, and he used to own The Crawfish Place off Airline Highway,” he says. “I’ve been around it for a long time as well. One thing led to another, and I started this business.”

So far, it’s been one of the worst crawfish seasons due to the numerous freezes this year, making mudbugs an unreliable purchase until late February. But the height of the season is coming and prices are dropping.

On a weekday, Hopkins goes through around 200 pounds of crawfish. Over the course of a weekend, he’ll see anywhere from 700 to 800 pounds. He’s currently charging around $4.39 per pound and says by Easter, the price will drop considerably. Though he only has the one trailer, he’s already thinking about the future.

“I had to build this fast because the season has already started,” he says. “If this year goes well, I’d like to expand and get another couple trailers.”

The Baton Rougean could use all the help he could get as he’s using the business as a means to fund his final few semesters in college at LSU. He has around 24 hours left in sports administration, but that he might change his degree to business.

Crawfish on the Geaux is open Tuesday-Friday, 4 p.m.-9 p.m., and Saturday-Sunday, noon-9 p.m.