From Finance to Flavor: C’est Bon Kitchen & Libations Brings Creole and Cajun Cuisine to North Tulsa

Table of Contents:
A Career Switch Born from a Love of Food
A Fresh Start in Tulsa
A Menu Inspired by New Orleans
Building a Network to Build a Brand
Finding a Community Partner in TEDC Creative Capital
A Bright Future on the Horizon, and Big Dreams

“C’est bon” is Cajun French word for “it’s good.” At C’est Bon Kitchen & Libations, Tulsa’s newest Creole and Cajun eatery, foodies can most definitely enjoy those delicious NOLA flavors that’ll have you saying “it’s good” all day long. The tasty meals and down-home vibes are all thanks to the vision of owner and operations manager David Franklin, who shares his love for food with help from TEDC Creative Capital.

A Career Switch Born from a Love of Food

Before David launched into the restaurant business, he worked in a totally different industry—accounting and finance. After a career spanning over 20 years, he found himself living through the 2020 pandemic, and like many others, he began contemplating his options outside his prior career. That’s when the idea of owning a restaurant came to mind.

“From the age of seven to now, I’ve always been intrigued by cooking,” David says. “Everyone in my family was always in the kitchen.”

 He watched his relatives, from his grandma to aunts and uncles, his mom and dad, as they baked and made food, and learned along the way. He’d also worked at a seafood restaurant while attending high school in Belle Chasse, Louisiana, which is where he developed a passion for experimenting with ingredients and spices. He’d cook for his family, and they’d always tell him: “David, you need to open a restaurant.”

A Fresh Start in Tulsa

As a young man, David felt he needed to pursue a professional career that would bring him a consistent paycheck, and that’s what led him into the financial world. But the pandemic allowed him to make a switch.

“I stepped out on nothing, which I would refer to as faith, and started my restaurant in 2022,” he says.

Initially, David launched his restaurant concept in Denison, Texas. Then he moved the restaurant to Durant, Oklahoma in 2023. After scouting Oklahoma City and Tulsa for a year and a half, he decided to move to Tulsa because he was excited about the city’s diverse, culturally accepting nature and identified a hole in the marketplace for Creole and Cajun cuisine.

“I liked the vibe that was going on in Tulsa,” he says. “And I saw that there was a need for my product in Tulsa. So, I decided to move here.”

A Menu Inspired by New Orleans

As chef and owner, David drew inspiration from his experiences cooking for his family and his own kitchen experiments. He also drew on what he’d learned as a teenager at the seafood restaurant and the eateries he’d owned to decide on the approach to take with C’est Bon Kitchen & Libations.

“The menu is totally driven by the authentic feel of Southern New Orleans,” he says. “My meals are paired and put together as if you were to visit my hometown and come to a family reunion or a family dinner. It’s something authentic that you would have, from our table to yours.”

Popular dishes include C’est Bon’s specialty Cajun pasta, served with either fried catfish or fried shrimp atop angel hair pasta with a Creole cream sauce, or the Highway 23, which serves fried catfish over dirty rice with crawfish cream sauce. Other fan favorites include the Bayou fries, boudin balls with dipping sauce, shrimp and grits, and the gumbo, which features chicken, sausage, and shrimp.

“If you have an eclectic palette, you’ll want to try everything,” David says. The restaurant is open from Wednesday to Sunday, with a Sunday brunch.

Building a Network to Build a Brand

At the restaurant’s soft launch, David expected a slow but steady increase in business. But Tulsa came out in force. The Shoppes on Peoria, where C’est Bon is located, garners plenty of buzz, and when people saw a Cajun restaurant with authentic meals open up, they were excited. People turned out in droves, and great reviews of the food are spreading quickly.

But that success didn’t come without effort. Like any new business owner, David faced his share of obstacles to get C’est Bon off the ground. Simply gathering the information he needed to start a business in Tulsa took time. And since he was new to the area, he needed to build his network.

“Moving to a city where you don’t know anyone can be difficult at times when you’re trying to build a brand,” David says. “The good thing is that I began to connect with stakeholders in the community, who have connected me with people I need to know.” He learned about how Tulsa works and gained tips for building his business and his network to thrive here.

“The makeup of Tulsa reminds me a little of my hometown. It gives you that small-town feel in a bigger city,” he says. “I value the connections that I’ve made so far.”

Finding a Community Partner in TEDC Creative Capital

Once David solidified his concept with successful tastings at his home and local churches, he was ready to move on to the next steps. That included finding the right location for the restaurant, of which he visited several.

“All the places we went to, it was like pulling teeth,” he says. Some weren’t a fit for his concept, while others weren’t open to the kind of restaurant he had in mind. “It was really challenging, really tough.”

Finally, David found himself looking at a spot in The Shoppes on Peoria, which TEDC Creative Capital owns. The area appealed to him, and so did the opportunity to make a positive impact by investing in a part of town that needed him.

“My goal is to join in with other stakeholders in North Tulsa,” David says, “to change the mindset, change the stereotype about North Tulsa, and bring in patrons from Bixby, Owasso, Catoosa, Broken Arrow, Sapulpa, Sand Springs, and bring them to North Tulsa, where you can come and get some good, authentic Creole food.”

The entire process was smooth, and TEDC’s team provided David with guidance as he navigated the process to secure a fitting space in a high-potential area. He presented the team with his business plan, shared his vision for the restaurant’s future growth, and secured the space in the Shoppes at Peoria, where C’est Bon is thriving.

A Bright Future on the Horizon, and Big Dreams

With the soft launch a success and the restaurant gaining positive buzz, David is looking forward to seeing C’est Bon Kitchen and Libations continue to evolve here in Tulsa. He’s looking forward to more opportunities to spread the word on the restaurant, the evolution of his restaurant group, and truly impacting the community he’s a part of.

Now, David is investing in making sure the restaurant delivers great customer service, hires quality employees, and continues to make the brand shine to his highest expectations. He’s planning to host events that bring the community together and foster positive connections. And he has an eye on launching a Wings restaurant down the road.

For entrepreneurs out there who are building their own business, David says, “Never give up on your dreams. Faith, hard work, dedication, perseverance, and patience will eventually turn those dreams into realities. Business gets challenging, but never look at a failure as the end. You have to keep going. Some of the most prominent people, the millionaires in this world, didn’t make it on the first try. There were several tries. Do your best and never give up.”

TEDC Creative Capital is a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) that focuses on serving small businesses in Oklahoma. Through valuable non-traditional capital and funding vehicles, as well as practical, vital educational opportunities, TEDC helps local entrepreneurs from all walks of life gain the essential business-building blocks to sustain and expand their ventures. Learn more about how TEDC’s caring, experienced team can help your enterprise thrive.