When Stephen Hightower saw the opportunity to acquire Beausoleil Restaurant and Bar, he jumped on it.
As managing partner of City Group Hospitality, Hightower knows the ins and outs of running big Baton Rouge restaurant names like City Pork, City Slice and Rouj Creole.
Now he’s looking toward the future with Beausoleil’s already established restaurant brand.
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City Group bought the business from the Juban Restaurant Group at the beginning of August, appointing the restaurant’s operator and former part-owner Jeff Conaway as City Group’s director of culinary operations.
“We had always respected what Beausoleil was, not only as a competitor, but as a great restaurant in Baton Rouge,” Hightower says. “It’s not only a great restaurant, but Jeff Conaway is a great person, manager and operator in the restaurant business in this city.”
Since the announcement, the restaurant—which had already temporarily shuttered because of the impacts of COVID-19—has remained closed for renovations. Beausoleil’s patio area will be expanded to include more outdoor seating. The restaurant layout will make space for a raw bar catering to oyster lovers, and the inside will be re-painted to brighten up the space.
“We want people to be excited about something new,” Hightower says. “We’re building on a reputation that’s there. We’re doing some light remodels and adding bright colors, and it’s going to be a place that people are going to walk into and notice how fresh it is. But at the same time, people can count on the incredible hospitality and service they’ve had for the past decade.”
There will be menu changes, too, although Hightower assures longtime diners their traditional favorites are there to stay. The menu now will lean more seafood-centric, with more raw oyster options, and there will be a greater focus on wines and wine pairings.
“It was already great,” Hightower says, “so if we can live up to that and bring our culture of hospitality and being on the front edge of the culinary scene into it, that’s always our goal.”
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Beausoleil hopes to open its doors again by mid-September. As for the future, Hightower says he and his company believe it is bright.
“This restaurant was one that was already established,” he says, “and we hope to put our touches on it and carry that torch into the future.”
Beausoleil is at 7731 Jefferson Highway.