With scores of restaurants opening this year in Baton Rouge, the trend of New Orleans-area eateries expanding into the Capital City appears to be healthy as the restaurant market heats up.
“We look at the Baton Rouge market as basically a feeder market to New Orleans,” says Paul Rotner of Acme Oyster House, which opened a location on Perkins Road in 2008. “It’s almost like being in New Orleans, but you’re in Baton Rouge, because everybody knows us.”
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What these New Orleans restaurant owners get from their neighbor to the northwest is a market that is often intimately familiar with their brands, and one that is full of customers eager to save the 90-minute trip to their favorite Crescent City spot. Some say it’s also a way to reduce some of the risk of opening in a new city, as Baton Rouge is somewhat of an extension of the New Orleans market.
Just this year, District Donuts, The Ruby Slipper Cafe and French Truck Coffee—all New Orleans-based establishments—branched out into Baton Rouge. Franchisees of Dat Dog, the popular New Orleans gourmet hotdog spot, say they’re looking for real estate and hope to have a location nailed down by the end of the year. Bud’s Broiler will open near Tigerland in the coming months, with the owner anticipating opening at least one more after that.
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