New faces at LSU’s North Gates

Photo by Stephanie Landry

LSU is back in session, and the North Gates at Highland Road is bustling yet again with returning students and several new businesses.

This year, the neighborhood’s landscape has seen numerous changes. The long-vacant Gatti’s Pizza that closed in 2008 is now Newk’s Eatery. The State Bar & Grub has taken over the former Louie’s Café, with that popular institution relocating to the old Wendy’s down the road. The old Reginelli’s Pizzeria is now Mahony’s Irish Pub. Serranos is now Barcadia.

And this is just some of the turnover that has happened in the past five years.

Shane Courrege of The State has known the area since his days working at the old music venue The Bayou, where Mahony’s Irish Pub is now located. He calls it a comeback for the area.

“I’m hearing a lot of good response from people who used to just go to Tigerland,” he says. “It seems like it’s becoming a better area for nightlife.”

Clarke Cadzow, owner of the 25-year North Gates tenant Highland Coffees and member of the North Gates Merchants Association, looks at these new businesses with cautious optimism.

“I’m always happy to see new businesses because that’s better than empty spaces,” he says. “But we have to get to work as a group.”

Just last December, Cadzow was unsure if he would remain in the area due to rising rent costs. Highland Coffees almost closed, but a rent agreement was worked out to ensure the business would stay for years to come.

The difficulty of doing business at the North Gates comes when students leave for summer or school breaks. All that time off adds to at least four months per year when students—their biggest customer base—aren’t around, Cadzow says. But, given his long tenure in the area, it is possible to survive.

“You have to run a solid business,” he says. “You have to be consistent and have a good product, service and atmosphere. There is a little less room for error. We can’t sit around and expect people to always have us on the top of their minds.” northgatesoflsu.com