Dempsey’s on Jefferson Highway closes

Unexpectedly, Dempsey’s Jefferson Highway location, a local staple known for its po-boys and gumbo, shut its doors at the end of the March.

“It’s a long story,” the location’s co-owner George Gugich says. “There were a whole lot of factors as to why it closed suddenly.”

Among those issues for the restaurant was lack of adequate parking and old kitchen equipment. The Jefferson Highway location opened about five years ago and the lease expired last week. Gugich says a decision was made to not renegotiate the lease.

“The building needed a complete remodel,” he says. “We weren’t satisfied with the terms of the lease. I like to think that I’m pretty fearless when it comes to the restaurant business. We knew about the problems going in, but we wanted to make it successful. The business was wonderful and we had so many loyal patrons. But we probably made a mistake opening a location in that building.”

Dempsey’s currently has two other locations—one that opened at 13580 Coursey Blvd. in the late ’90s and another in Prairieville at 17535 Airline Hwy. that opened in February. Gugich says there are no concrete plans for another Dempsey’s location for now.

“We’re looking to open a different type of restaurant in the near future,” he says. “That has been put on hold as we’re trying to get our Prairieville location off the ground.” —Matthew Sigur