Inside the minds of the Crawfish Festival
By Abby Bigaouette Contributing Writer
Inside the quaint restaurant off Muskogee Avenue , known as Linney Breaux ’ s , two meticulous masterminds of flavor and culture have dreamed up a staple spring event in Tahlequah : the annual Crawfish Festival . We sat down with Mike and Brandon Linney to talk about all things crawfish , Cajun cuisine , and festival planning . Who are you ? Mike : I am Mike , and this is Brandon , and we ’ re the “ Linney Breaux ’ s .” We ’ re from Lafayette , Louisiana . Not born there , but we grew up there . [ Throughout ] most of our teenage years we were immersed in a lot of the culture and cooking processes and recipes . We learned from friends and family members – people that we grew up around . How long have you guys lived here ? How did you end up in Tahlequah ?
Brandon : So , my mother has a history here . Her grandmother was from the area . There was a school that ’ s currently closed – the Markoma Bible Academy . I went there my last year of high school and met my wife – well , my girlfriend at that time . We dated for close to two years [ after ] high school and got married , then moved back to Lafayette for a year . [ After that ] she wanted to be close to her family . I ’ ve been living here ever since then . We ’ ve been married [ for ] 27 years on April 8 . That ’ s pretty crazy .
6 Green Country Scene • Volume 4 • Issue 2