GROVES — About 25 years has passed since Monceaux’s closed the doors of the Gulfway Drive eatery in Port Arthur.

The memories of steak finger baskets, homemade onion rings, stuffed shrimp and tarter sauce have been kept alive by word of mouth as well as various Facebook groups.

The memory was alive and well among the crowd of Monceaux’s fans who patiently waited for hours outside a small trailer parked in front of a vacant convenience store near the corner of 39^th Street and Main Avenue on Friday.

“There isn’t another place like it,” Mary Derise of Groves, who frequented the old eatery decades ago, said. “I’ll wait in line. I wouldn’t wait in line for 15 minutes for a movie but I’ll wait for this. I waited in line then (years ago) and I’ll wait in line now.”

The newly opened Monceaux’s is a collaboration of Kevin Smith and business partner Bill Schroeder. Smith is the son of Helen “MoMo” McKinney who was the cook at the original Monceaux’s.

Carrie Shea of Port Neches was a regular customer years ago as well as today.

“This is worth coming to and they’re trying,” Shea said of the busy employees trying to fill orders. Her favorites are chicken friend steak baskets and crab burgers. “We went regularly, now my children are going.”

A round of applause went up as an employee handed an order out a small window to a waiting customer. After the long wait the customers began calling each other by their first names.

Neither Smith nor Schroeder expected the volume of customers who have packed the business trailer this week. Employee Alishia Mouton agreed.

“We had to close down on Thursday and take a day to prep,” Alishia Mouton, employee, said. “I spent the whole day cutting steak and getting ready. We go home at night and brainstorm how to make it better. We want to make the customers happy.”

Schroeder said he prefers to be honest with customers about the wait time as they work out different issues.

“I will tell someone truthfully if we are not able to make their order or if we are out,” Schroeder said. “I’d rather be correct in the order and live up to the name.”

Mouton explained that currently the best way to place an order is to call in. When the order is ready an employee will call the customer for pickup.

With less than a week under their belt, owners are already thinking of expanding as well as other tweaks to the menu. Mouton said one of her goals is to bottle the tarter sauce for sale. The sauce, she said, is a fan favorite.

Over near the trailer Denise Shive of Groves and Vanessa Griffin of Port Arthur waited for their orders.

“This is the second time I’ve been here since it opened. I grew up on it,” Shive said “I can tell it’s the original recipe.”

While Shive waited for her chicken strip basket Griffin was waiting for a stuffed shrimp basket.

“Oh, and the white boxes,” Shive said. “When they (orders came out) and I saw the white boxes I knew it was Monceaux’s.”

Toni Dyson tried to estimate the year the original eatery closed.

“I know for sure it was open July 1, 1988. They were open when I delivered my child and I had food delivered to St. Mary Hospital by Chuck Balsamo,” Dyson said. “I had a crab burger and a steak finger basket and I ordered both of those today and a stuffed shrimp basket.”

Monceaux’s, 3947 Main Ave. in Groves, is open from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Friday and noon to 5 p.m. Saturday. They can be reached at 548-5492.

E-mail: mary.meaux@panews.com

Twitter: MaryMeauxPANews