Correction: This story has been updated since its original publication to remove Ice House Bar & Grill, which has since reopened. 225 regrets the error.
These days, Baton Rouge’s food, music and nightlife scene is constantly changing. For the most part, change is positive. We’re adding new bars, restaurants and venues almost monthly.
Unfortunately, to make room for all this new, we have to say goodbye to some of the old. As the restaurant scene grows, not everyone makes it.
We’ve written before about the difficulties of the restaurant business. But that doesn’t make it any less hard when we hear about a restaurant closure. It feels particularly personal to those of us who write about food and spend time tracking all the openings and closings. “Nooooo,” we’ll lament to our coworkers over Slack.
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Here’s a list of all the restaurants, bars and venues we’ve bid farewell to since last summer. But there is some consolation: looking forward to what’s coming to take their place.
• Galatoire’s Bistro on Perkins Road closed in July 2018, and now houses Provisions on Perkins.
• Lava Cantina shut down its downtown location in July 2018, followed by its remaining Perkins Rowe location in December.
• 1913, a nightclub on Third Street, closed in August 2018 and will be replaced by a new live music venue.
• Another Broken Egg closed its location inside the IBM building downtown last September.
• Taco shop Somos Bandidos on North Boulevard closed in September. There has been talk of a grilled cheese shop moving into its space, but that hasn’t come to fruition yet.
• The Melting Pot on Corporate Boulevard also closed in September.
• Voodoo BBQ at Perkins Rowe closed in October, and Jinya Ramen Bar opened in its place this summer.
• Street Breads on Perkins Road permanently closed in November, four months after emerging from Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
• Breck’s Bistro on Burbank Drive shut down in December.
• Mr. Taco Cantina on Airline Highway shuttered in February.
• Southfin Southern Poke on Corporate Boulevard closed in that location in March. It was replaced by The Salad Station.
• Copeland’s of New Orleans closed its Essen Lane location in March, merging with Cheesecake Bistro and making room for an expanded Batch 13 Biscuits & Bowls.
• Marcello’s Wine Bar and Café in Southdowns closed in April. Solera, Bin 77 Bistro & Sidebar‘s new Spanish tapas-style concept, is set to open this month in the former Marcello’s location.
• Tiger Deauxnuts and Barbecue closed in May, and Mj’s Cafe will move into the Government Street location.
• Piccadilly To Go on Lee Drive also closed in May and was replaced by Tropical Smoothie Cafe.
• Driftwood Cask & Barrel on Third Street closed in June. Squeaky Pete’s, a country music-themed bar and music venue, opened in the space this month.
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• Magpie Cafe‘s downtown location closed in June. A yet-to-be-announced business is set to take over its Commerce Building space.
• Sammy’s Grill in Zachary also closed in June.
What other big restaurant closings have occurred since last summer? Tell us in the comments!