Community, comfort, chicken at Bahadi’s
Chicago-style food rules the roost, but Cajun has a home at sibling-owned eatery.
Damara Guillory and her brother Dawan Anderson may own a restaurant in Pflugerville, but their culinary inspiration comes from the Midwest.
Bahadi’s Chicken, which opened at 907 FM 685 in March 2017, introduces Chicago-style food to the community and serves up favorites for Chicago natives wanting a taste of home.
Their signature meal: fried chicken wings drenched in Chicago’s famous mild sauce.
“Some people think it tastes like barbecue sauce, other people say it tastes like ketchup,” Guillory said. “It’s just a really tasty sauce, and you can eat it with fish and shrimp, too.”
Opening a restaurant together was something natural for the siblings. They grew up around food and incorporated what they learned from family members who own several restaurants in Chicago.
Anderson recalled his grandmother hosting the neighborhood at her Chicago restaurant for good food and live music.
“You would go home feeling like you were a part of something bigger than yourself,” Anderson said.
Now he said he wants to bring that same relaxed, community atmosphere to Pflugerville.
As a child, Guillory would spend her summers and winters in Chicago. She would frequent Harold’s Chicken Shack, her favorite chicken joint, which she said served as an inspiration for Bahadi’s.
“By far, Chicago has always been my favorite place to eat,” she said. “As an adult, I have a family now and it’s hard for me to travel as much, but I still wanted that food. So why not bring it here?”
After working in the hotel business for 18 years, Guillory, a Pflugerville native, reached out to her brother, who recently moved from Chicago to the area with his family to open the spot. The name originates from Anderson’s middle name, which he said means “good luck.”
Since its opening, Guillory said the Pflugerville community has embraced Bahadi’s.
“We’re only getting busier, which is a great thing,” she said. “People are really starting to hear about us.”
The siblings may have started as a traditional Chicago eatery, but they are always seeking new ways to bring innovation to their menu, and southern cuisine has definitely had an influence.
This week, Bahadi’s rolled out Soul Food Sundays, which offers Southern comfort food favorites like candied yams, meatloaf, smothered pork chops and broccoli and cheese casserole.
Guillory said her husband’s side of the family is big on Cajun cuisine, which led them to also add items like po’boy sandwiches and gumbo. And they are developing a recipe for Chicago-style pizza.
The restaurant also serves as a hub for community events and hosts karaoke, comedy nights and live bands.
“There’s nothing you can’t get as far as entertainment and good food,” Anderson said. “There’s a little bit of everything.”