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Chris Courville and his family inside Ya Betta Eat Cajun Smokehouse following their ribbon cutting on July 29. (CHILTON CHAMBER | CONTRIBUTED)

The main dining room of Ya Betta Eat Cajun Smokehouse offers a relaxed and spacious environment for customers to dine. (CAREY REEDER | ADVERTISER)

Chris Courville by the classic jukebox inside Ya Betta Eat Cajun Smokehouse’s dining room for customers to browse through. (CAREY REEDER | ADVERTISER)

Chris Courville cooking fresh gumbo for the day’s customers. (CAREY REEDER | ADVERTISER)

The Ya Betta Eat Cajun Smokehouse staff, the Courville family and local Chilton County dignitaries gathered for a ribbon cutting at the restaurant on July 29. (CHILTON CHAMBER | CONTRIBUTED)

Chris Courville by the sign inside Ya Betta Eat Cajun Smokehouse’s dining room that showcases his journey to Clanton. (CAREY REEDER | ADVERTISER)

A bowl of gumbo and rice from Ya Betta Eat Cajun Smokehouse. (CAREY REEDER | ADVERTISER)

By Carey Reeder | Managing Editor

Chris Courville has brought the best of both worlds of BBQ and Cajun-style cooking under one roof in Clanton with Ya Betta Eat Cajun Smokehouse in downtown. Courville and Ya Betta Eat have had a quick rise locally from a simple food truck to a storefront restaurant in around two years. But the Louisiana native is turning his passion into his full-time job one order at a time.

Courville has been cooking since he was a kid helping his father and grandfather cook at hunting camps and for family events growing up in Zachary, Louisiana, just north of Baton Rouge. Courville’s wife Ashley is from Chilton County, and after the two married, they decided to move back to the area to be closer to her parents. Courville fell in love with Clanton, and as he got acclimated with the town, saw the need for some different types of food.

For his day job, Courville is an industrial hygienist and tests mold to identify what needs to be done by restoration companies to properly eliminate it. He provides those companies with guidelines to restore the buildings or homes, and returns afterwards to ensure it has been done properly. A lot of Courville’s work happens in areas following natural disasters like hurricanes, and he saw people in need of food firsthand in these areas and wanted to find a way to help even more.

“I was already there doing disaster response work, so what better way to feed people than when they do not have restaurants open,” Courville said. “It helped draw business in, and it brought attention to the businesses, but we got the gratification of feeding people in a time of need.”

Courville established a food truck and provided people with something to eat in these weather-torn areas. After a few months, he started taking the truck to local events in Chilton County to see how others in the community liked the food. The response was extremely positive, and the community enjoyed the food that they could not get anywhere else in central Alabama leaving the truck sold out at most events it attended.

A short time later, Courville got involved with catering events locally with some of his signature items like jambalaya, pastalaya and ribs. Ya Betta Eat went from one food truck and developed into a catering company, and now a storefront restaurant in around two years.

“We set the food trailer up and fed people after hurricanes and natural disasters, and it took off from there. We started doing some events locally, then everyone wanted more of our food. We started getting into catering and the community has pushed us to have a storefront with our food,” Courville said. “It has been a quick rise, and as I sit here today and look around I am like ‘Wow, this is a reality now.’ It is a full-time job, and I never understood how much work it was. I respect business owners and have a deep respect for restaurant owners because a lot of people do not know how hard it is, and I did not until now.”

Ya Betta Eat is the first restaurant Courville has opened and even thought about opening, and the biggest thing he wanted to be was different. He wanted to stand out from other restaurants in not only Clanton, but in central Alabama as well, and he developed his food style based on that.

The restaurant has a variety of traditional BBQ like brisket, ribs and pulled pork, but the smoked meats have a different twist to them. They are rubbed down in a number of creole seasonings and dry rubs that Courville makes himself, then they are put in the smoker low and slow. The twist comes by adding traditional Cajun food to pair with the BBQ like jambalaya, pastalaya, gumbo and boudin. Customers could get some ribs with a side of jambalaya, or whatever combination they would like, getting two different styles of food in one meal. Ya Betta Eat will also have crawfish and oysters for order in the fall when they are in season, adding even more Louisiana flavor to the menu.

“This concept is going to take off, and even in Louisiana you either get BBQ or Cajun you still do not mix it together,” Courville said. “I am taking a really big gamble of mixing it together, but so far it is going pretty well. We are super excited to be here and bring something new.”

The Chilton County Chamber of Commerce held a ribbon cutting ceremony for the new restaurant on July 29 to open the establishment for business. Courville said the Chilton County community has been very supportive of the new restaurant, and even on days its restaurant has been closed the door is getting pulled on by eager customers looking to try a bite.

“The support for me and my family (has been great), the mentorship from Sergio (Sanchez) has been unbelievable, and could not have done it without all of that,” Courville said. “If I did not have the support and I did not think there was a need for it, then my will to open this up and invest in this would not be as high as it is.”

Ya Betta Eat provides a relaxed environment for customers with music projecting throughout the dining room. Customers can provide their own tunes for the room on the fully functional jukebox that has been in Courville’s family for four generations. The restaurant will be extending its hours starting August 12 and will be open for lunch on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays, giving Courville more opportunity to make his dream and passion come to life.

“(My passion) is not so much the actual cooking aspect, but more about the people,” Courville said. “That is why there is a big window in the kitchen and I can just look out and watch everyone take the first bite. They take the first bite, and they do not say anything but they just nod their head. That is when I know this is all worth it. That is what I live for, and seeing everyone smile. I want people to collaborate here, meet here and love being here.”

Ya Betta Eat Cajun Smokehouse is located at 205 6th Street N, Clanton.

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