Willie’s plans second B.R. restaurant on Coursey

Willie’s Restaurant, a family-owned eatery at 11950 Cloverland Ave., off Airline Highway, is planning to open a second location on Coursey Boulevard. Willie’s, which offers a traditional Louisiana menu featuring items such as frog legs, barbecue shrimp, grits “NOLA style” and the “Saintsation” po-boy, opened its first location in 2009.

Co-owner Willie Chapman says the second location will offer a slightly different concept, which he calls “Louisiana smokehouse meets Louisiana seafood.”

“We do all of our own cured hams, smoked turkeys, sausages and boudin,” explains Chapman, who owns the restaurant with his sister, Emily Hazelwood. “But we currently run most of those options as weekly specials.”
In-house cured and smoked meats will become more of a focus at the new location, Chapman says. “Moving away from processed, pre-prepared food is the only way to be the best,” he says.

The second location will measure roughly 5,500 square feet and will be built across from the Sonic on Coursey. Chapman says he hopes to break ground on the building, which will seat 180 diners inside and 40 on an outdoor patio, by the end of the month. The goal is to open by August, he says.

Chapman says he’s excited to take advantage of the greater visibility and established customer base the Coursey location offers compared to the original Willie’s location.

“It’s going to be very exciting for Baton Rouge and for us to open there, because we’re hidden right now,” he adds. “We won’t be then.” —Rachel Alexander