Just the fries, ma’am

After his drive-thru convenience store in Metairie was bought out by Taco Bell, Eric Mullin was looking for another opportunity. In almost no time, Mullin and his cousin, Scott Intravia, found out about the Jacksonville, Fla., chain French Fry Heaven.

“Everybody likes fries,” Mullin says. “People are curious about all the different toppings. There hasn’t been anything like this.”

French Fry Heaven opened in the Mall of Louisiana in late September. The idea is simple—customers can pick between regular or sweet potato fries, and load them up with their choice of toppings in a small (Cupid) or large (perfect) size. If you have trouble deciding, though, you might want to take a look at the menu first—there are 50 topping choices.

“All we sell are fries and drinks,” Mullin says. “We’re more of a snack food. We slow down around lunch, but around 2 or 3 p.m., it starts picking up.”

Some of the more popular items are the Baked Tater fries, which feature cheese, ranch dressing and chives and tastes like a baked potato; and the Festival sweet potato fries, which are coated in powdered sugar and vanilla frosting like a funnel cake.

The prices are cheap, too, with fries ranging from $3-$5.50, depending on the size.
Though Mullin is making the drive up I-10 from Metairie each day, he doesn’t mind it so far, and he’s looking to franchise the business throughout the state.

“I figured if you lived in New York, it’d be an hour-a-day drive, so this is nothing,” Mullin says. “We’ve been looking at spots in north Louisiana, too. I’ll probably have to get good plane fare if I want to go to those regularly.”

For more information on French Fry Heaven, click here. —Matthew Sigur