Bistro Byronz to open in Lafayette

Bistro Byronz is heading west with a new Lafayette location set to open Monday, January 16, 2012. The family-run Baton Rouge-based eatery has partnered with Gene Todaro, Sr., a Lafayette restaurateur who operates Marcello’s Café, The Elephant Room and Marcello’s Wine Shop, in launching the latest Bistro Byronz at 2605 Kaliste Saloom. The concept will be the same, says Emelie Kantrow Alton, whose family first established the restaurant in Baton Rouge in the eighties, and reopened it 20 years later as a French bistro-inspired spot with dishes like steak frites, chicken paillards and famed blue cheese chips. Filling a niche between chain restaurants and upscale eateries, Bistro Byronz has proved to be successfully portable. Other locations include Shreveport and Mandeville. The latest addition in Lafayette will serve lunch and dinner Monday through Saturday and brunch on Sunday. Before its official opening, Bistro Byronz Lafayette will host a couple of warm-up events, including meals that raise money for local divisions of the American Cancer Society and Habitat for Humanity. Alton says partnering with charities is part of Bistro Byronz’s brand. “We want be involved in the communities where we operate,” she says.—Maggie Heyn Richardson