Latte e Miele to focus on Bocage location

After four years on Highland Road near The Country Club of Louisiana, Luca Di Martino says he has found the perfect location for Latte e Miele: Bocage. Co-owner Di Martino opened the second Latte e Miele last summer at Bocage and has discovered the new location is exacting “blatant cannibalism” on the Highland Road location, attracting old and familiar customers while expanding its menu and now providing a full-service lunch. “We’ve created a monster, I think,” Di Martino says of the Bocage store. For now, Di Martino wants to pare Latte e Miele down to one location—Bocage—and concentrate on another expansion of the menu in the evening, including cheese plates and charcuterie. He says he’s also in the process of applying for a liquor license.

While Latte e Miele’s Italian gelato has always been a success on Highland Road, Di Martino says the Highland location gets good traffic only in summer months and has no advantage of being located next to a large draw of customers, such as Towne Center creates at Bocage. Di Martino says there is always the possibility of opening a second Latte e Miele in Baton Rouge again, possibly downtown or in the area of Acadian Thruway. “Other towns are not out of the question either,” he says. In the meantime, Di Martino has listed his Highland store location for sale but says he has no interest in franchising it or selling recipes. The Highland location will stay open until sold, he says. —Adam Pearson