Cassidy (right) and Tamara Bowman (left) are the new owners of GOMBO Nola Kitchen & Oyster Bar.
Reminder Publishing submitted photo
NORTHAMPTON — Northampton resident Cassidy Bowman sees the purchase of GOMBO Nola Kitchen & Oyster Bar, the Cajun and creole staple on 159 Main St., as a classic tale: boy and dog eat at restaurant so much; they buy restaurant.
A little over a year ago, Bowman and his Siberian Husky Lucy were looking to kill an hour or two after Bowman dropped his son off at his weekly yo-yo practice at A2Z Science & Learning and Toy Store when they suddenly stumbled upon GOMBO.
The serendipitous encounter would change the lives of Bowman and his family over the next year-and-a-half.
“Lucy and I showed up there on the first couple of days and sat outside, and it was just love at first sight in every possible way,” Bowman said, in an interview. “The food was incredible, the staff really made us feel at home and it became our third place outside of work and home.”
From that first weekend forward, Bowman and Lucy made it a tradition to go there almost every Friday and Saturday for the last 18 months after dropping Bowman’s son off.
“I think Lucy and I have maybe eaten there 200 times,” Bowman said.
Fast forward to present day, Bowman now owns GOMBO with his wife Tamara after previous owner/chef John Piskor decided to move into the next phase of his life.
Suddenly, those 200-plus trips will turn into a lot more.
“Over the course of the year, we got very close with the staff and Chef John,” Bowman said. “And we always used to half joke, ‘oh, maybe Lucy will buy the restaurant one day.’”
Although logistics disallowed a Siberian Husky from purchasing the restaurant, Cassidy and Tamara jumped on the opportunity once Piskor texted Cassidy about the interest in selling to them.
“He told me ‘The staff thinks you should buy GOMBO,’” Cassidy said. “And I sent that text to Tamara, and she responded instantly in, which is pretty awesome.”
Piskor, who was first exposed to Cajun and creole food as the executive chef at Chef Wayne’s Big Mamou in Williamsburg, opened GOMBO in spring 2023 offering classic entrees like chicken etouffee, shrimp and mussels creole, New Orleans Red Beans and Rice, fried chicken mac n’ cheese and seafood jambalaya, as well as six different oyster dishes and many different appetizers.
Cassidy, who has spent the last 25 years of his life in operations management after managing a couple cafes in San Francisco during the 1990s, said that the soul of GOMBO will stay the same.
“It was very important for John that GOMBO stays GOMBO, and it was equally as important to me and Tamara that GOMBO stays GOMBO,” he said.
Eventually, Cassidy noted that he and his wife will implement some ideas, like bringing lunch into the fold or maybe adding something to the menu after meeting with the staff, but for the most part, the menu will generally stay the same.
At some point, the restaurant will also have live music on a regular basis, according to Cassidy.
“A lot of musicians have come to me in the last few weeks, and I’m like, ‘yes, we need to do this,’” Cassidy said. “Especially since we’re right in the downtown area.”
The official first day of the Bowmans as owners of the restaurant happened on Oct. 30 and a ribbon cutting followed on Nov. 1. Cassidy said life has been a whirlwind since buying the restaurant, but it is a decision that “just feels right.”
“We’re pretty psyched,” he said. “We love Northampton, and we know we’re probably going to be here until our last stop.”
Readers can learn more about GOMBO by visiting its website: https://www.gombo-oyster.com/.
