Edith’s Place offering home-style southern food
Published 1:48 pm Saturday, June 3, 2017
- Diane and Tommy Guidry, owners of Edith’s Place, welcome the crowd during their grand opening and ribbon cutting on Friday. Mary Meaux/The News
Things are looking up in downtown Port Arthur with the addition of Edith’s Place.
The eatery, located at 743 Procter St., specializes in home-style southern food and is owned by Diane and Tommy Guidry.
On Friday, local officials and well-wishers packed the restaurant to celebrate the grand opening and ribbon cutting.
The savory aroma of a home cooked breakfast filled the air as some of the customers dined on grits, eggs and sausage while others opted for a breakfast burrito.
Diane Guidry explained that the restaurant is named after her husband’s mother, Edith.
When asked why they opened a restaurant, she answered with a smile.
“Because he’s (Tommy) is always cooking. We figured we might as well open a business,” Diane Guidry said.
The recipes were passed down from Tommy’s mother.
“As a young kid I was always in the kitchen following my mom around and as I got older I started cooking for her,” Tommy said, adding he is the youngest of eight children. “One day she said ‘alright boy, you got it down.”
Port Arthur city councilmembers Rev. Raymond Scott Jr., left, Harold Doucet, Thomas Kinlaw III, Willie “Bae” Lewis and Cal Jones came out to support the opening of Edith’s Place.
Mary Meaux/The News
The significance of a sit-down restaurant in this stretch of the city is monumental to say the least. Downtown Procter Street has been devoid of eateries for some years but things are starting to look up. The city’s pavilion has been updated and a park revitalized just a block or so away.
Councilmember Thomas Kinlaw III sat down to a plate breakfast prior to the ribbon cutting ceremony.
Diane and Tommy Guidry, center, cut the ribbon during their grand opening of Edith’s Place on Friday.
Mary Meaux/The News
“Having an established business like this located in downtown where you can get good quality food and don’t have to go past (Texas) 73, it’s right here in downtown,” Kinlaw said. “There are a lot of city workers, the EDC (Port Arthur Economic Development Corporation), the police and fire departments, all have a chance to support this. As councilman for District 3 I am so excited that we have this business located downtown.”
Edith’s Place falls into councilmember Rev. Raymond Scott Jr.’s precinct of the city and he, too, is pleased at the new business and is wiling to support Edith’s Place. He added that besides the city employees in the nearby area that students and faculty and staff at Lamar State College Port Arthur can also come down and enjoy a meal.
Perhaps most of all, there is a need for a place to eat in downtown Port Arthur.
“We definitely need for it to be here,” Scott said.
Edith’s Place is open Monday through Friday. Breakfast is served from 5 to 10 a.m. and lunch is served from 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. They can be reached by calling 409-460-5256.
