Taste of New Orleans, Katy

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"It's exciting, because we've lost so much," he said. "To be able to say you fought, and you have a fighting chance, is so gratifying."

"We believed," Brenda, 48, added. "Those were my words: Believe. He was going to give up. I said, 'You know what? You cannot give up. You hope and you keep going on, because something is going to happen.' And it happened. You have to have faith. We went out on faith.' "

Her voice quivering and her eyes tearing up, she sought comfort in the arms of her husband.

"God is so good," she sobbed.

That was on Sept. 20, as workers scurried around making final preparations. The next night was the grand opening, and they welcomed a steady stream of visitors who gorged on complimentary fried fish, shrimp, gumbo and potato salad as they were serenaded by jazz saxophonist Steven Richard. And the following night, the restaurant opened and did $1,400 in business.

Tyrone doesn't want to put the cart before the horse, but he says that even before the opening, he fielded nearly identical inquiries from two separate investors: one who wanted to open a location in New Territory in Sugar Land, and another who wanted to open a location in The Woodlands.

He thinks he's locked in on a successful formula: authentic Creole food cooked by two former New Orleans chefs (Harry Forbes of The Commander's Palace and Travis Dixon of the Sheraton New Orleans) and his wife. Brenda's father, Gilbert Boutte, was a chef and groomed her.

"She's cooked with him all her life," Tyrone says. "That's her gift from God. She makes a bowl of gumbo so good you pass out. She makes all her sauces from scratch and serves incredible smoked oysters.