Trains used to unload freight at 308 S. Cate St. in Hammond. These days the building is where you go for a sushi roll and a blackened redfish.

The Wong family first made its name in Hammond in 1971, when it opened Trey Yuen. In 2003 the family bought the town's former freight station, which sits at the entrance to downtown, and spent about a year and a half restoring it.

Built by the family

The Wongs did roughly three-quarters of the construction themselves. They kept the station's original character and filled it with historic pieces donated by Hammond residents.

Cate Street Seafood Station opened on Aug. 19, 2004, as a seafood buffet. It gave the south side of downtown a new reason for people to park and walk around.

How Katrina changed the menu

Hurricane Katrina in 2005 changed the restaurant's direction. Around that time, Yusuke Kawahara of Little Tokyo moved to Hammond and taught Christopher, part of the Cate Street family, the art of sushi. When Cate Street reopened, the buffet was gone. In its place was a menu built on seafood, steak and sushi, and it's still the restaurant's identity today.

What to order

The house favorites cover a lot of ground: Southwest sashimi, the Tropical Breeze roll and a sushi pizza from the sushi bar, plus blackened redfish, shrimp Alfredo and a crawfish pepper jack dip. For a land-and-sea table, add a ribeye or a burger. Weekday happy hour runs 4 to 6 p.m., and the restaurant also caters and hosts events.

The family invests in its staff, too. This year its "On Track!" scholarship program supports team members.

Plan your visit

Cate Street Seafood Station is open 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday. Reservations are available; call 985-340-3891, or 985-345-6789 for to-go orders.

Make the drive to Hammond, and order a roll with some history behind it.

Photo courtesy of Cate Street Seafood Station.