Bayou Eats | Tailgators on the River

ARTICLE BY STARLA GATSON
PHOTOGRAPHY BY KELLY MOORE CLARK

Friends flock to Tailgators on the River to eat plates of chicken wings, drink pints of beer, and watch their favorite sports teams play on the restaurant’s television screens. Families meet there to celebrate birthdays, anniversaries, or to take a break from cooking and cleaning up after dinner at home. There’s even a kids’ menu, so even the youngest members of your crew can find something they’ll love. 

IMAGINE TAKING A SEAT ON A patio with a cold cocktail in your hand, your toe tapping along to a live music performance, and a plate of alligator tacos in front of you. If that sounds enjoyable to you, you’re in good company. Plenty of Ouachita Parish locals agree, and that’s why they’ve taken to Tailgators on the River: because there, you can enjoy that very experience. 

Although the bar and grill is still relatively new — the Tailgators brand was established in 2023 — it has quickly become a fan favorite among many Monroe-West Monroe residents. The casual dining spot opens at 11:00 a.m. seven days a week and closes at midnight on Wednesdays and Thursdays, and 2:00 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. Regardless of the time of day you stop by, chances are high you won’t be dining or drinking there alone. Its tables are often full, and the parking lot is usually packed. 

The steady flow of customers coming in and out of Tailgators on the River makes it hard to believe there was ever a time when the restaurant was on the brink of closure. But, according to Hailey Ray, it’s true: Tailgators almost went under. 

Ray, who co-owns Tailgators with Jay Middleton and Trey Funderburg, says that when the restaurant first opened at its original location, business was far from booming. The trio first introduced the community to Tailgators on the River at a Desiard Street address, right across the street from Downtown Billiards, which Ray also owns. 

“Everything had gone from down there, so it was just us,” Ray recalls. “Brass Monkey left, 2Dudes left, the haunted house left. Desiard Street was really struggling, so we put Tailgators right across from [Billiards]. The space was small; we only had 10 tables.” The menu was excellent, but still, hardly anyone was coming in, Ray says. Regardless of how good the food and drinks were, a restaurant can’t survive without steady business. After about a year and a half of struggling to get customers in the doors, the Tailgators crew had a choice to make: shut down or try again at a new location.

“We prayed and prayed on it,” Ray says before sharing that ultimately, the trio decided to move. 

They didn’t go very far, only about half a mile down the road to 201 Walnut Street. According to Ray, the historic building that now houses Tailgators previously housed four other businesses, one of which was Miro’s. Before that, back in the nineteenth century, when Monroe was still Fort Miro, it was a meatpacking plant. 

The move surrounded the Tailgators team in the building’s history. But, perhaps more importantly, it made all the difference in the world for the business. Where it used to struggle to fill a 10-table space, Tailgators now easily fills a space five times bigger than the old one. It’s more visible to passersby, so people are more likely to stop in. The fact that it’s across the street from the newly opened Hotel Monroe probably doesn’t hurt, either; travelers visiting the area can get to the restaurant on foot.

“We moved half a mile down the road, and we’ve been flooded [with business] ever since,” Ray says. “It’s been wonderful. We gave it one last chance, and the community responded to it, and we’re so thankful.” 

Friends flock there to eat plates of chicken wings, drink pints of beer, and watch their favorite sports teams play on the restaurant’s television screens. Families meet there to celebrate birthdays, anniversaries, or to take a break from cooking and cleaning up after dinner at home. There’s even a kids’ menu, so even the youngest members of your crew can find something they’ll love. Girlfriends pile in on Sundays for a catch-up session over brunch. Groups make plans to stop in on a Wednesday night for trivia or for a weekend evening for live music. 

Finally, Tailgators has become the gathering place Ray, Middleton, and Funderburg knew it could be, and the vibrant yet casual atmosphere of the place has become Ray’s favorite thing about it. 

“Everybody comes in here,” she declares. “It’s very diverse, very friendly, and very fun. It’s relaxing to me. I can sit here outside on the patio all day and enjoy it. It’s so comfortable here.” 

Of course, the customers play a role in creating the positive atmosphere Ray speaks of — “They’ve been so welcoming, which is crazy to me because we didn’t have a big response down there on Desiard Street at all,” she says of their patrons. However, she has to give most of the credit to the team the three owners have assembled to handle Tailgators on the River’s daily operations.

“We have a great staff,” Ray gushes. “We are nothing without the people who work for us. They make every day easier. Anybody can come to us and say, ‘Oh, this place is great. You’re doing a good job.’ But if we didn’t have a good team, it wouldn’t be anything.” 

Ray says she and her fellow owners are dedicated to keeping morale high and showing their appreciation for their staff. That’s why Tailgators is closed on the fifth Monday of the month: so the entire team can have fun and enjoy quality time together. 

“Everybody works hard; we have to have a day to show them they’re appreciated,” Ray says. 

A new location, a stellar group of employees, and supportive customers aren’t all that Tailgators has. There’s also the excellent menu Ray mentioned earlier, with food and drink items that community members rave over. Ray says she could eat the joint’s fried alligator tacos every day, adding, “I like them extra crispy!” 

Made from fried alligator, the dish, dressed with Buffalo sauce, shredded lettuce, cheese, tomatoes, jalapenos, and ranch, is a bestseller. Ray says the Louisiana Special is also a popular pick. It’s available on Mondays, and it includes red beans and rice, andouille sausage, cornbread, and your choice of fried pork chops or catfish. 

“We get our alligator and fish locally,” Ray declares proudly, sharing that the alligator comes from West Monroe’s Donald Farms and the catfish from Wisner-based company Haring Catfish. “We try as much as we can to support local.” 

If fried alligator, pork chops, or catfish aren’t quite your cup of tea, you’re in luck. There are a variety of other items on the menu, so you’re sure to find something you’ll like. At Tailgators, you’ll find an array of appetizers, from mozzarella logs to mini meat pies to boudin egg rolls. There are steak, chicken, and boudin quesadillas, and tacos made with your choice of shrimp, chicken, or fish. 

The restaurant boasts a handful of salad options, too, perfect for those eager to get their daily greens in. Order a classic like the chef salad, or lean into the spot’s down-home Louisiana cooking vibe with a blackened fish salad. And, of course, there are burgers, poboys, and sandwiches, too — try a cheesy Quesadilla Burger, or turn up the heat with a spicy, fried jalapeno-filled Firewalker Burger. 

Tailgators has a full bar, so patrons can wash their entrees down with their favorite cocktail — classic margaritas, Moscow mules, and Bloody Marys are popular picks — a glass of wine, a beer, or a hard seltzer. 

The Tailgators on the River team seems to have a good thing going. But, Ray notes, they’ve only been in their larger location since January of this year. Running the restaurant at its current state has differed greatly from running it in its early days, and it’s definitely taken time to adjust to the new location — “It’s a lot bigger space than what we were in!” she says. 

Now, though, as they approach the one-year mark at the Walnut Street location, Ray says they’re looking ahead and planning Tailgators on the River’s next steps.

“We are expanding our dinner menu,” she says when asked what kind of growth and evolution patrons can expect from the bar and grill. “It’ll only be available Wednesday through Saturday, six to close, and it’ll be more of an upscale dinner.”

More of their plans for the restaurant include taking on more catering gigs, opening a private party room, bringing in more live entertainment — “We love live music; it’s a big thing here,” she says — and implementing new ways to appeal to customers the way that Wednesday night trivia currently does. Ultimately, though, they’re taking it all one step at a time. It may take some trial and error, but Ray says the team wants to get it right. 

“This first year has been about us getting out there and letting people know we’re here,” she says. “We’re going day by day, seeing what works and what doesn’t. It’s a learning curve for everybody.”