Louie’s eyes relocation, summer reopening

For Louie’s Café co-owner Jimmy Wetherford Jr., a change has been a long time coming. The popular 24-hour diner near the north gates of LSU’s campus will move into the former Wendy’s location on State Street this summer. Last week, 225 caught up with Wetherford about the new Louie’s.

“We’re going to try to recreate the present Louie’s as best we can,” he says. “We’re going to stick to the open-cooking and diner atmosphere. We’ll keep our décor colors the same black, white, red and turquoise. We will have a counter with stools. We will try to bring as much of the ambiance as we can.”

He says he’s expecting a July opening, and the new spot will be slightly bigger at around 2,800 square feet with seating for about 90 patrons. The space will also allow more flexibility for catering.

“We’re going to have a more robust kitchen,” he says. “We’re going to double our cooking capacity in terms of space and staff.”

Another huge selling point for the new location was parking—the former Wendy’s has more than 20 parking spots. There are only four designated spots in front of the current location, and nearby parking is scarce.

“Frankly, the main reason we chose to move down the street was because of the affordability of parking spaces here,” he says.

This summer’s move isn’t the first for Louie’s. The business started in 1941 under Louis Sisk in a tiny, 10-stool location on Chimes Street. Wetherford took over with two friends in 1978 and moved to the current State Street location in 1986.

Like his patrons, Wetherford is excited for the next chapter for Louie’s.

“Everybody’s been very positive,” he says. “It’s really a win-win all around.”