Tuscaloosa Restaurateur Behind Popular Sushi Restaurant to Launch Cajun Concept This Summer

A veteran Tuscaloosa restaurateur who has run a popular downtown sushi restaurant for almost a decade is gearing up to launch a new Cajun concept a few doors down.

Pete Zimmer, the longtime manager of Ajian Sushi on University Boulevard, sat down with the Thread to talk over the new concept on Friday.

For the uninitiated, former Alabama quarterback AJ McCarron and Zimmer launched Ajian in 2017, a few years after McCarron led the Tide to back-to-back National Championships at the height of the Nick Saban dynasty.

Some winced at the punny name, but the Subway-style build-your-own-roll sushi joint has stood the test of time and is nearing nine years in business on University Boulevard - a lifetime for any Tuscaloosa restaurant.

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Two years ago, Zimmer opened up the wall separating Ajian from its neighbor and launched the Daq Shaq next door - a still-thriving New Orleans-style daiquiri shop loved by college students and locals alike.

Now Zimmer is taking over the recently closed Clean Eatz grab-and-go cafe across University Boulevard from the Richard Shelby Federal Courthouse, where he is planning a Cajun and Creole restaurant called - get this - Cajian.

Zimmer is taking inspiration from an Indianapolis-based chain called Yats, where customers order a bed of rice smothered in any of up to 10 rotating Cajun or Creole favorites.

"It's a no-frills restaurant," Zimmer said. "They serve everything in a 9x9 clamshell container, and you can pile on half drunken chicken, half crawfish etouffée with a nice big piece of garlic Cajun butter French bread with a big bed of white rice underneath, and all that's 11 bucks."

Zimmer wants to do something similar at Cajian, and in partnership with Paige Blankley, the owner of Northport's Eat Dat Louisiana food truck and wife of Tuscaloosa's Executive Director of Public Safety, Brent Blankley.

"We're going to expand upon Yats does and add some favorites from Paige's food truck, like Po-boys and debris fries," Zimmer said. "She's got a shrimp grilled cheese on her food truck that people go absolutely crazy over, so we'll continue to offer that down there with some desserts, grab-and-go salads, and some alcoholic drinks, some daquiris."

Zimmer said they've got to paint over the former Clean Eatz space to bring a little more Louisiana to the space, but with a lot of equipment already in place and two restaurant pros ready to get things started, Cajian could open as soon as this July.

"The whole tagline is 'Cajun + Creole, Twisted.' But with that last part, we want the liberty of having fun. I don't want people coming in and going, 'This isn't authentic Cajun food!' if there's gumbo with okra in it," Zimmer said. "I did a gumbo that has both okra and tomato in it at my old restaurant, and back in 2012, it was voted the best damn dish in Cincinnati. So we're going to have that Gumbo on the menu, but then Paige will have her seafood and sausage Creole Gumbo on the menu, too, no okra. We should have a little bit of something for everyone."

Like at Ajian, Zimmer said the goal will be to keep prices low, so people can come in for a plateful of rice and Cajun or Creole toppings with bread for under $10. He believes he and Blankley have the recipe for another successful concept, but said it will be up to the people of Tuscaloosa to prove him right.

"We've decided, let's offer something to the residents of Tuscaloosa that nobody else is doing," Zimmer said. "I think it will be a hit with college students, but locally, I hope we'll garner a lot of interest from people who cliam they're tired of another chicken joint, another pizza joint, and so on. You all have asked for something different, so here it is. Now you've got to show up and support us."

Look for Cajian to open soon at 2008 University Boulevard across from the federal courthouse this summer.

For more exclusive coverage of restaurant and retail development in West Alabama, stay connected to the Tuscaloosa Thread.