Pioneering Oyster Farmer Co-Opening a Seafood Spot in Lake Charles

Chef, restauranteur, and pioneering oyster famer David Sorrells is planning to open a seafood spot in a former Mellow Mushroom pizzeria location in Lake Charles that highlights the tasty bivalves. Sorrells has received a grant from LSU to cage-farm oysters in neighboring Cameron Parish , but he’s also a prominent figure in the Lake Charles restaurant scene.

According to a report in The Advocate , the yet-to-be-named restaurant is still in the conceptual phase, but Sorrells and area restauranteur Ben Herrera are going forward with an oyster house concept at 3420 Ryan St. in Lake Charles. In addition to featuring oysters, the planned restaurant will reportedly feature fried chicken and a few other non-seafood dishes.

Sorrells’ Salt Revival Oyster Co. is one of a handful of tenants at the Cameron Alternative Oyster Culture Park , which is a project dedicated to producing boutique oysters using funds from the 2010 BP oil spill. Oysters at the park are raised in cages that provide controlled environments. Sorrells placed his first cages in the fall of 2023, and he started harvesting his crop this past spring, according to Visit Lake Charles .