Nick Hufft talks the new Curbside at local Barcadia

When Nick Hufft announced he would be taking his talents to New Orleans, setting up the beloved Curbside Burgers inside Barcadia Bar and Grill, he knew he’d hear complaints from Capital City customers.

“It was a very tough decision,” he says. “[Baton Rouge] is where my business started and made its name. The only reason we agreed to go to New Orleans and set up with Barcadia is the opportunity to come back to Baton Rouge. From day one, we told Barcadia that we wanted to bring this to Baton Rouge. We knew this would blow up here.”

After getting Curbside up and running successfully in New Orleans, Hufft and Barcadia’s Louisiana operating partner Stan Ripp started looking at options here. In mid-February, Hufft confirmed via Facebook that Curbside Burgers would return as part of the new Baton Rogue Barcadia in the former Serranos at 3347 Highland Rd.

Hufft says the venture will be similar to the New Orleans location. On the arcade side, Ripp says there will be plenty of classic games, and patrons will have a say in what games stay or go.

For Curbside, it’s business as usual. Hufft says he’ll put his full lineup of 10 best-selling burgers on the menu. Just in case you were wondering, his pork belly preserves will also make an appearance.

“We’ll be doing fun, beer-friendly food,” he says. “We’re starting to dive into sandwiches. We’ll make bacon and pastrami in house. The menu will have salads, plate lunches, dinner specials and a ton of shared plates, like Wisconsin cheese curds, in-house fried pickles, Korean pork shanks and fried orzo with goat cheese.”

Hufft says the businesses are shooting for a July opening at the earliest.