Mike Anderson’s bounces back after arson attack

Thirty-seven years ago, former LSU All-American football player Mike Anderson opened a casual seafood restaurant and market on Highland Road, naming it Mike Anderson’s College Town Seafood and Oyster Bar. The small eatery served mostly poboys and sold fresh and boiled seafood, but it marked the start of an enduring and influential restaurant legacy in Baton Rouge.

Anderson understood what Baton Rouge palates craved, and his café’s popularity soon necessitated a move to a larger location on West Lee Drive. There, he created a stalwart seafood menu that gets to the heart of the Capital City’s culinary desires. Despite a succession of fires throughout its history—accidents in 1997 and 2000 and a third fire caused by arson in December 2011—Mike Anderson’s bounced back each time, drawing passionate fans with its clear identity and brimming plates. Click here to read the rest of the story.
—Maggie Heyn Richardson