Jimmy Buffett's Sister Runs A Restaurant That Always Served Him This Louisiana Staple

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You probably associate him more with "Cheeseburger in Paradise," his hit song that inspired a lesser-known failed burger chain, but one of iconic musician Jimmy Buffett's favorite foods was something entirely different. In fact, it inspired another song of his: "I Will Play for Gumbo." The singer's love of the famous Louisiana-born dish was rooted in childhood and his paternal grandmother's weekend cooking in Mississippi. It's no wonder he would go on to open the Margaritaville restaurant chain, which has more than two dozen locations. Those weekend meals had a similarly profound impact on Buffett's sister, Lucy, the head chef and owner of LuLu's restaurants (with locations in Gulf Shores, Alabama, Destin, Florida, and Myrtle Beach, South Carolina). She wrote about the experience in her 2017 book, "Gumbo Love: Recipes for Gulf Coast Cooking, Entertaining, and Savoring the Good Life." 

Gumbo became her calling card, her best-selling dish, and the one her brother, Jimmy, ordered more than any other when he stopped in for a meal, she told the Palm Beach Post in 2017. Speaking to the outlet, she described a good gumbo as a labor of love that takes not only culinary skill but patience and care. Mastering it took years of experimentation and perseverance. While she's made multiple versions during her career, her grandmother's summer seafood gumbo remains the foundational favorite and is a featured dish at her restaurants. It includes wild Gulf shrimp, blue crab, and, seasonally, oysters or crawfish, enriched with housemade seafood stock and a proprietary Creole seasoning.

LuLu's gumbo may not be universally beloved online, but it has passionate fans and won first place in the People's Choice competition at Florida's Sandestin Gumbo Festival in March 2026. The restaurant's extensive menu also features a version of Lucy Buffett's winter gumbo with chicken and andouille sausage. However, much in the same way that Jimmy Buffett's preferred drink wasn't a margarita, Lucy's favorite dish according to her website is her crab melt nachos (sadly, no longer on the menu), not gumbo.

Buffett opened the first LuLu's Sunset Grill in 1998 on Week's Bay in Fairhope, Alabama, as a burger restaurant, bait shop, and bar. Since then, her restaurants have grown quite a bit. In keeping with the spirit of her legendary brother, there's live music. The decor is colorful, and the waterfront settings and ambience are laid-back and family-friendly. The Alabama location offers sand toys for kids to play with while parents watch from picnic tables and Adirondack chairs. The Alabama and Florida restaurants also feature ropes courses, while Alabama and South Carolina patrons can play beach volleyball. All three locations have beach arcades.

LuLu's also hosts parties and other special events. But for Lucy, none will likely ever top the surprise, free two-hour concert Jimmy Buffett and the Coral Reefer Band performed at the Alabama location in 2010. It followed the infamous BP oil spill, and, as Gulf Shores Mayor Robert Craft told the Herald Tribune, many in the audience were locals affected by the disaster. They desperately needed a win, and the music icon delivered a memorable one, even playing "I Will Play for Gumbo."