Though still many months away, 2020 will bring a mayor’s race to Baton Rouge. Potential challengers to incumbent Mayor Sharon Weston Broome are already beginning to test the political waters.
Among them is 31-year-old Republican businessman and restaurateur Jordan Piazza, who tells Daily Report he plans to formally announce his candidacy this spring.
Piazza—who co-owns Phil’s Oyster Bar & Seafood Restaurant and Uncle Earl’s Bar with his brother, Anthony—says while working in the public sector was not his original career path, he has felt a “true calling” in recent months to serve the community.
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“As I’ve watched the challenges that our great city continues to face, I believe it’s time for the next generation of leaders to get involved implementing real change,” he says.
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A Baton Rouge native and graduate of LSU, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in agricultural business, Piazza began his career in the corporate office of Walk-On’s Sports Bistreaux. He then spent several years as business manager for Raising Cane’s before recreating the popular Phil’s Oyster Bar in 2017, that, for decades prior, was owned and operated by his father, the late Gus Piazza.
In recent months, Piazza says he has been meeting with business and community leaders and is encouraged by the feedback he has received.
Read on for the full story, which originally appeared in the Jan. 2 edition of Daily Report.