Dianne Andrews, a local entrepreneur and media personality, is opening a coffee shop on Florida Boulevard near Baton Rouge General’s Mid City campus.
The shop, called Boulevard Brew, is poised to bring new energy to a stretch of Florida that has surprisingly few options for coffee given its high traffic volume.
“We really don’t have a stand-alone coffee shop in this area,” Andrews tells Daily Report. “You have to go all the way downtown or toward Government Street to find one.”
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Renovations to the building began during the COVID-19 pandemic but stalled before resuming last year. Andrews says the project will have cost her more than $200,000 once all is said and done, but she believes the investment will pay off given how many new businesses and residents the area has attracted in recent years.
“I’ve been here a long time, and I’m so happy to see this part of Florida coming back,” she says. “It really has improved a lot in the past couple of years.”
Boulevard Brew will operate primarily as a drive-thru at first, though Andrews plans to add indoor and outdoor seating as well as a small dog park somewhere down the line.
The shop’s menu will feature a range of coffee drinks in addition to lemonades, teas, breakfast sandwiches and pastries. Light bites like flatbreads and pizzas may be offered in the afternoons for commuters on their way home.
Boulevard Brew will be located at 3875 Florida Blvd. and is expected to open in early June.
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Andrews operates her pet pillow company Fuji’s Totes out of the building’s upper floor. She says she’s the nation’s only Black pet pillow patent holder.
Since 2015, Andrews has hosted Dianne Andrews in Black and White, an “issues-based” television program that airs on The CW’s local outlet every Sunday at 3 p.m.
This story was originally published by Daily Report on April 14. To keep up with Baton Rouge business news, subscribe to the free Daily Report e-newsletter here.