Beausoleil to expand catering business

Beausoleil Bar & Restaurant, the Bocage-area eatery that specializes in new Southern cuisine, is hoping to expand its growing catering business and has applied for a zoning change with the Planning Commission so that it can add on to its existing location in the Bocage Shopping Center.

Jeff Conaway, who co-owns the three-year-old restaurant with chef Nathan Gresham, says the partners are not yet ready to discuss the details of their plan. But he says the restaurant has always been involved in the catering side of the business and would like to do even more.

“We recently purchased new equipment and we want to be able to devote more time and energy to our banquet and catering services,” he says. “It’s a totally different business than being in the restaurant industry, but we have a lot of experience and the demand for what we can offer is super strong.”

Conaway says the partners’ expansion into banquet and catering services is not a reflection of the restaurant’s performance, but is a way to stay ahead of the curve in an increasingly competitive industry. “In today’s market you just have to do what you can,” says Conaway.

The Planning Commission will take up Beausoleil’s zoning request at its regularly scheduled meeting Jan. 20. —Stephanie Riegel