Throwback to Crawfish Buffets 🦞: Prices Then vs Now 💰

Back when crawfish didn’t break the bank

A vintage advertisement from an April, 1980 Marksville-area newspaper is turning heads today, not just for nostalgia, but for the price.

Mike Anderson’s Seafood Restaurant in Mansura proudly advertised an "All You Can Eat" crawfish buffet for just $6.95. By today’s standards, that is hard to imagine. In fact, all you can eat — most folks would say we sure could eat a lot at that price.

Today, a crawfish buffet can run around $45 per person, a reflection of rising costs over the years, from fuel and labor to the crawfish harvest itself. What was once an inexpensive, everyday outing has become more of a seasonal splurge for many families.

Still, some things have not changed. The ad also featured boiled crabs, Sunday buffet service and weekday lunches, showing that even decades ago, seafood spots like this were gathering places for the community.

While the price of crawfish has climbed, the tradition remains strong in Avoyelles Parish. Families and friends still gather around tables, peel, eat, and enjoy the same experience that has been a part of life here for generations.

The numbers may be different today, but the love for crawfish and the memories made around it have not changed one bit.

A 1980 advertisement for Mike Anderson’s Seafood Restaurant in Mansura promoted an all-you-can-eat crawfish buffet for $6.95, a price that stands in sharp contrast to today’s roughly $45 cost for a similar experience.