“It was always my dream to open a brick-and-mortar location,” says Basel’s Market food truck owner Kalyn Lindsly.
And today, Aug. 20, Lindsly’s dream will come true with the grand opening of Basel’s Market on Highland Road near Lee Drive. The whimsical sandwich shop has all the charm of the beloved food truck with the added appeal of a permanent location near LSU.
Lindsly was driving by the hole-in-the-wall location one day when she saw it was for sale. She thought it would be “the perfect location,” especially to offer football fans new food options for game days. She immediately called to express her interest. “Everything was finalized by the end of the week,” she says. “It all happened fast.”
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The cafe’s brick wall entrance is the first sign of the unique charm that differs from other spaces on the busy street. Inside the small cottage, guests can enjoy rustic decor on the walls like wood-panels, antique-style plates and a mirror-flanked cozy fireplace. Or they can sit outside and enjoy the greenery in the courtyard seating area.
Classic menu items like Kalyn’s Pimento Cheese Box and miniature homemade crawfish and chicken pies will be available, along with a few new surprises such as fresh-baked cookies and an extended dessert menu. The food truck always featured fun specials on Fridays like chili dogs, mac ‘n’ cheese and hot roast beef, and the brick-and-mortar location will continue this tradition. Lindsly is also expecting to get her liquor license sometime in October, just in time for the holidays.
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She says she knew it was the perfect time to make the shift to a brick-and-mortar, since she had been running the food truck since 2017 and was looking for more stability with a baby on the way. She lovingly refers to her food truck days as “the golden years” but says it was becoming physically difficult to maintain the small space and coordinate new locations to park the food truck every day during her pregnancy.
“The food truck was hard work,” Lindsly says.
The cafe will be closed on Mondays but open 7 a.m.-3 p.m. every other day of the week. Basel’s Market is at 5435 Highland Road.