CounterspaceBR, a from-scratch bakery and food-centric retailer across from Towne Center, is opening an additional location in Zachary.
Along with Counterspace Zachary, the historic downtown house will also be home to community magazine Porch and Parish, and the owners intend to host additional businesses and events for their growing city.
“The goal is to really build a community hub,” says Counterspace owner Sarah Joy Hays.
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Hays was looking for a new location in Mid City and reached out to her friend Jen Bayhi Gennaro, a Zachary-based real estate professional and co-publisher of Porch and Parish with her husband, Mike. Gennaro suggested Hays check out the house in Zachary, which was the first to be rebuilt after a 1903 fire destroyed most of the city’s historic district and is the former home of Whimsical Alley toy store, Gennaro says.
Porch and Parish and the Gennaros’ brokerage will be upstairs. Gennaro is working on a lease for a garden center and retail space, and in the courtyard they can host events such as dinners and concerts, she adds.
They also plan to host a “ghost kitchen” that local entrepreneurs can rent out to host pop-up events and test their concepts.
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“Even though we own it, it’s a space for everyone,” Gennaro says.
Hays plans a soft opening for friends and family Jan. 19, with a full opening a week later. And she still plans to open a new Counterspace location in Mid City soon, though she’s not quite ready to say where.
This story originally appeared in a Nov. 17 issue of Daily Report. To keep up with Baton Rouge business and politics, subscribe to the free Daily Report e-newsletter here.