The Pearl Oyster Bar on Padre Island is one part of the 'Sunset Island' restaurant group, just over the JFK Causeway. The CEO of Sunset Island confirmed that The Pearl has closed down, and it will reopen in March as a new restaurant called 'The Cajun.'
“This is actually phase two. The Pearl is down right now. We’ll be reopening in March as ‘The Cajun,’ home of the $9.99 boil and ice cold beer," Steve Gotberg, the CEO of Sunset Island, said.
“Sunset Island is Marker 37 Marina, and then we have four restaurant venues currently.”
The four restaurant venues that makeup Sunset Island are Snoopy's, The Cuban, Scoopy's Ice Cream, and The Cajun—which will be opening in a couple of months. The Cajun will still be under some of the same management that The Pearl was under, with some new management.
“This is all at the request of our patrons here at The Pearl. We did many surveys to understand what does the local community want?" Gotberg said.
Gotberg also noted that he and his team consulted out-of-town visitors via survey about what kind of restaurant they would like to see in place of The Pearl. He said the concept of a Cajun restaurant seemed to be a hit.
“The name The Pearl, it’ll transition. It’ll come back up as The Cajun, home of the $9.99 seafood boil and ice-cold beer," Gotberg said.
The Cajun brand is all about the $9.99 seafood boil and cold beer.
“The 9.99 boil starts at that price. Again, that includes your first beer, and then there are add-on's. Do you wanna add shrimp? Do you wanna add clams? Do you want to add crab? Do you want to add lobster?" Gotberg said.
KRIS 6 News neighborhood news reporter Erin Holly spoke to neighbors off camera about how they feel about the re-branding of the Pearl. One neighbor said that she was not surprised about the want for a different kind of restaurant at this location.
While Gotberg said it was time for a change, he said many popular menu items from The Pearl Oyster Bar's menu are here to stay, even when it becomes 'The Cajun.'
“We’ll still offer the oyster towers, the oyster trays that we’ve had from the past. We’ll still be a full blown oyster bar," Gotberg said.
'The Cajun' is expected to open in March, sometime before Spring Break.
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