was forced to close the doors of his daytime lunch hotspot, Brown Bag Gourmet, in 2021 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, he decided to do what locals had been suggesting for years—merging with Broken Wheel Brewery. “We’ve always joked about combining the two restaurants,” Bonnette said. “And this time it actually happened and it’s been the most amazing thing that we’ve ever done, business-wise. We’ve quadrupled revenue.” Helmed by Bonnette, who brought nearly thirty years of restaurant industry experience into the venture, today Broken Wheel is known for serving authentic Cajun cuisine featuring powerhouse seafood platters, elevated savory dishes such as crawfish étouffée and crab cakes, and rotating daily specials. “So we kept the name and merged the two menus, and like I said, it’s been the best thing.” Growing up, Bonnette worked for his parents’ restaurant in his hometown of Moreauville, a village in Avoyelles Parish. “I swore I’d never open a restaurant,” he said. Thankfully, he would go on to break his promise; hindsight (and a proper appreciation for irony) are twenty-twenty, after all. It wasn’t until Bonnette moved to New Orleans in his early twenties, though, that he began to fall in love with food, honing his craft as a line cook at Dickie Brennan’s Bourbon House Restaurant. “That’s when I fell in love and really understood the restaurant business more. There was a lot more than what my parents’ restaurant had to offer.” He moved back to Central Louisiana when the opportunity arose to help open Red River Grill in downtown Marksville in 2001 (which reopened Downtown Grille) and spearheaded a in 2017 under the new name Maglieaux’s menu based around staples such as Gulf seafood, prime steaks, and wild game. Bonnette stayed at the beloved local spot for ten years, before serving as the executive chef of Legends Steakhouse at Paragon Casino for another three. After eighteen years of working in the restaurant industry, Bonnette finally
The Andouille-crusted redfish from Broken Wheel Brewery, featuring pan roasted shrimp, Louisiana hot sauce cream, green onion aioli, and roasted corn grits.
2022 SMALL TOWN C H E F AWA R D S
Chef Trent Bonnette
THE MARKSVILLE CHEF BRINGS HIS BROWN BAG INGENUITY TO THE LOCAL BREWERY Story by Lauren Heffker • Photos by Shannon Fender
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or first-timers, the name Broken Wheel Brewery can be a bit of a misnomer, at first—the good kind, I mean. The pleasant surprise kind. The kind that, if slightly factually questionable, is only due to the fact that it is also so much more than. Upon pulling up to the packed parking lot on Tunica Drive in Marksville, Louisiana, and walking up to the tall entryway, it’s evident the brewery is also a full-service restaurant, with a large pet-friendly patio and beer garden (jumbo Jenga and cornhole included), banquet room, and main dining space with spacious bar seating. On a warm Tuesday evening in mid-spring, the bar has an unmistakable Cheers air about it as the locals’ unofficial town hall; this designation is further confirmed when a group of older men break out into song at one point, craft beer and camaraderie flowing. While “brewery” is indeed part of the name, it’s the restaurant that comes first and foremost for this operation; the beer is a bonus, said Chef Trent Bonnette. “Chris is the brewmaster, I take care of the kitchen, and John mostly does front-of-house and helps with coordinating catering. We’re a restaurant first. And then the brewery follows.” Bonnette is referring to Jonathan Knoll, who first opened Broken Wheel as Fresh Catch Bistreaux in 2009, and to Chris Pahl, the longtime friend Knoll joined forces with in 2015 to bring Broken Wheel Brewery to life, rebranding the name of the restaurant to reflect their handcrafted beers, produced to pay homage to the local culture. The packed parking lot at Broken Wheel is due, in large part, to its recently revamped menu, which can in turn be attributed to Bonnette’s (also somewhat-recent) presence. When Bonnette // J U L 2 2
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