Swamp Snacks

⚜️ A LITTLE NEW ORLEANS CRUNCH HAS ARRIVED! ⚜️

At Bayou Books & Beans, we love carrying products that don’t just taste like Louisiana—they have a Louisiana story behind them. And these two are New Orleans snack legends. 💜💚💛

🥔 THE STORY OF ZAPP’S
Zapp’s began in 1985, when Ron Zappe started making kettle-style potato chips in an old Chevrolet dealership in Gramercy, Louisiana. After his oil-field business plans fell apart, he took a chance on kettle-cooked chips—and created something unmistakably Louisiana. One of the first signature flavors, Spicy Cajun Crawtators, brought the flavor of a Louisiana seafood boil to a potato chip.  

And Voodoo? According to Zapp’s own history, that famous flavor came from a happy accident when seasonings were mixed together after a spice pallet toppled. Instead of throwing the mixture away, they tried it—and a Louisiana favorite was born. 😂  

🧀 THE STORY OF ELMER’S CHEEWEES
Now THIS is some New Orleans history! The Elmer family’s roots go all the way back to a New Orleans candy company founded in 1855. During the Great Depression, the Elmer brothers experimented with machinery they had seen at Chicago’s World’s Exposition and developed an early corn curl. After experimenting with flavors, cheese became the favorite—and eventually a New Orleans naming contest gave the snack its famous name: CheeWees!  

In 1946, Morel Elmer Jr. launched the cheese-curl business that became Elmer’s Fine Foods. The company survived Hurricane Katrina despite its 9th Ward factory taking nearly 11 feet of water, rebuilt in the same neighborhood, and continues making CheeWees in New Orleans today. They’re baked, not fried, and the company remains family-owned. ⚜️  

✨ NOW AT BAYOU BOOKS & BEANS ✨

We’ve got:
Zapp’s Regular • Sweet Creole Onion • Voodoo • Spicy Cajun Crawtators
and
Elmer’s CheeWees Jalapeño Cheddar • Hot-N-Spicy

Whether you grew up eating them or you’re sending someone a little taste of home, these are the kinds of products we LOVE adding to Bayou Books & Beans.

📚☕⚜️ Books. Coffee. Louisiana favorites. A little taste of home.

Laissez les bons temps rouler—and pass the chips! 💜💚💛