National media and marketing company America’s Best Restaurants (ABR) will visit Sellersburg, Indiana, fast-casual restaurant FaiDodos May 10. The eatery, named for the Cajun term fais do-do (a term referencing a dance party), serves a rotating menu of “street food” influenced by various international cuisines.
The episode will highlight FaiDodos’ popular dishes and relay owner Hunter O’Dell’s vision for the restaurant’s unique place in the community.
O’Dell’s goal was to create a “neighborhood hangout for Sellersburg — a town where most restaurant fare is not too varied,” he said, as relayed in a release provided by ABR. He sought to fill a niche in the market, offering diverse menu items inspired by other cultures.
“I want this to be a place where people can be like, ‘Oh, finally, food I can’t find anywhere, I can get it here,’” said O’Dell in the release. “Food is what connects people, and being able to kinda create a place like that, I just think is cool.”
Now with a full-time team of culinary school graduates, O’Dell said he is free to focus more on promoting his establishment. He is “excited” for the visit from the ABR Roadshow, which he sees as “right in line” with his marketing vision, according to the release.
“This is awesome timing,” he said. “I'm really happy that this is what ‘America’s Best Restaurants’ brand is, and how [they] work with small local places.”
Some of O’Dell’s popular menu items are conjured from past memories. Poutine (gravy and cheese-curds covered in gravy and served over fries) was a dish he enjoyed while working as a videographer in Canada. He adapted them into several variations of “loaded fries” on the menu. One of O’Dell’s other dishes, a classic Greek lamb gyro, which is available over fries (like the poutine) or as a salad, is based upon memories of childhood visits to a Greek restaurant with his father and brother after spending the day at a local skatepark. According to O’Dell, FaiDodos is the only local establishment that offers this type of item.
FaiDodos’ episode will debut on the America’s Best Restaurant website approximately six weeks after it is filmed, according to America’s Best Restaurants Communications Specialist Suzanne Caithamer.
FaiDodos is located at 7815 Highway 311 in Sellersburg, Indiana. It is open daily, with the exception of Sunday.
