TV Restaurants

What Happened to The Bayou After Restaurant Stakeout? (North Bellmore, NY)

Closed verified

As of September 2026, The Bayou has closed — confirmed via patch.com, November 5, 2018.

Primary source
patch.com ·
Secondary source
newsday.com ·

Last verified

What the source shows: A Patch news article dated November 5, 2018 reported that owner Lisa Livermore announced the closure in a post to the restaurant's own Facebook page, and cited a Newsday interview in which she said rising costs of doing business made it too hard to stay open.

  • Season / episode Season 3, Episode 5
  • Original air date
  • Address 2823 Jerusalem Ave, North Bellmore, NY 11710

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Note on this show: Described as staged/scripted by Wikipedia's article, citing a 2012 realityblurred.com report. Surface this note on every record.

What happened after Restaurant Stakeout?

Season 3's "The Big, Not So, Easy," a play on New Orleans's "Big Easy" nickname, brought Willie Degel to The Bayou, a Cajun and Creole restaurant on Jerusalem Avenue in North Bellmore, New York, that billed itself as Long Island's original home of that cuisine. The title points to a dining room that was not living up to its New Orleans-inspired promise, with service pacing and consistency problems undercutting a menu of dishes like catfish in crawfish cream sauce and jambalaya, the kind of gap Restaurant Stakeout's hidden cameras are designed to expose. After reviewing the footage, Degel called a staff meeting to confront the team about the inconsistency, then returned to coach them on steadier ticket timing and guest attentiveness, following up later for a status check. Wikipedia's article on Restaurant Stakeout describes the series as scripted, citing a 2012 realityblurred.com report that found the show's premise staged for the cameras. The Bayou, open at 2823 Jerusalem Avenue since 1986, continued serving Cajun specialties for decades after its 2013 appearance. In November 2018, owner Lisa Livermore announced in a post to the restaurant's Facebook page that The Bayou was closing after more than 32 years, telling Newsday that rising costs of doing business had made it too hard to stay open.

Featured on Restaurant Stakeout

Season / episode
Season 3, Episode 5
Original air date
Episode title
The Big, Not So, Easy
What was featured
Cajun/Creole restaurant's inconsistent, unevenly paced service floor
Role
Featured restaurant
Name on the broadcast
The Bayou

Frequently asked questions

Is The Bayou still open in 2026?

As of September 2026, The Bayou has closed — confirmed via patch.com, November 5, 2018.

What happened to The Bayou after Restaurant Stakeout?

Season 3's "The Big, Not So, Easy," a play on New Orleans's "Big Easy" nickname, brought Willie Degel to The Bayou, a Cajun and Creole restaurant on Jerusalem Avenue in North Bellmore, New York, that billed itself as Long Island's original home of that cuisine. As of September 2026, The Bayou has closed — confirmed via patch.com, November 5, 2018.

Is The Bayou permanently closed?

As of September 2026, The Bayou has closed — confirmed via patch.com, November 5, 2018. We publish a closure only with a dated source behind it, and we say plainly when it has not been independently confirmed.

Where is The Bayou located?

2823 Jerusalem Ave, North Bellmore, NY 11710. That is the address on the record as of September 7, 2026.

What season and episode of Restaurant Stakeout featured The Bayou?

Season 3, Episode 5 of Restaurant Stakeout, first aired April 15, 2013. The episode is titled “The Big, Not So, Easy”.

Is The Bayou still using the Restaurant Stakeout menu or branding?

The title points to a dining room that was not living up to its New Orleans-inspired promise, with service pacing and consistency problems undercutting a menu of dishes like catfish in crawfish cream sauce and jambalaya, the kind of gap Restaurant Stakeout's hidden cameras are designed to expose. Anything newer than our last check on September 7, 2026 may not be reflected here.

Every status on this site carries a confidence label and a date, and names the source it rests on. Read the Editorial & Corrections Policy for what each label means and how quickly we act on corrections. The questions above are generated from this record's own published fields — we never publish a question we cannot answer from the data.

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Visit info

Address
2823 Jerusalem Ave, North Bellmore, NY 11710
Venue type
restaurant
Official website
None found

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Sources

  • Wikipedia — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Restaurant_Stakeout
  • patch.com — https://patch.com/new-york/bellmore/after-32-years-li-cajun-restaurant-has-closed-its-doors
  • newsday.com — https://www.newsday.com/lifestyle/restaurants/feed-me/the-bayou-north-bellmore-cajun-1.22790221

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