First Look: Dearman’s opens burger outpost at Brickyard South

Baton Rouge burger institution Dearman’s Diner is bringing its classic burgers to a satellite location downtown.

Officially opening this Saturday, Aug. 29, Dearman’s South takes residence in a dormant food truck wedged into a patio corner of the dive bar Brickyard South. Dearman’s will serve a grab-and-go lineup that riffs on menu items served at the flagship Bocage location, including quarter-pound hamburgers and cheeseburgers, hot dogs, fried and grilled chicken sandwiches and fries. A few new stomach-coating additions appear as well, including meat pies and onion rings.

Dearman’s owner Casey Evans conceived the idea about a year ago while hanging out one night at Brickyard South. Noticing the bar’s inactive food truck, he approached Brickyard South owner Bryan Rogers about a partnership.

“I said, ‘What if we did some pop-ups out of y’all’s truck?’” Evans recalls. “And Bryan said, ‘What if you just took it over and popped up whenever you wanted?’ That’s really kind of how it happened.”

Former Dearman’s general manager Westin Williams will run Dearman’s South, preparing a tidy menu for revelers. Deviating from Dearman’s Diner, it will also offer specials, like the current “Sweet Heat” burger topped with pepper jelly, aioli, fried onions, cheddar cheese and bacon.

“I keep saying this is a place where we can be experimental and kind of have some fun,” Evans says. “The original Dearman’s has been there for 68 years. It is what it is. You don’t want to go messing with that.”

Evans started working as a server at Dearman’s about 20 years ago while in high school. He has worked at the diner ever since, becoming its longtime manager, then an owner in 2022.

Brickyard South regulars will notice the resident food truck is now bright red, in keeping with the Dearman’s brand. But it’s still got the kind of gone-to-seed look expected of a bar that leans into its divey-ness. Channeling the Southern kitsch of vehicles parked on cinder blocks, the truck’s tires have been removed. Evans says that was actually intentional. It made it easier to permit the operation if the truck was stationary, he says.

Starting Saturday, Aug. 29, Brickyard South patrons can spill out onto the adjacent fenced patio through the roll-up door and find the burger outpost. Evans is adding more booth seating.

“It’s a food truck location that’s adjacent to a bar, which makes it unique and cool,” Evans says.

Dearman’s South isn’t the first time the iconic brand has made its way to downtown Baton Rouge, Evans says. The restaurant serviced the 19^th Judicial District Courthouse’s first-floor cafeteria for about a year and a half after the building was completed on North Boulevard in 2010. The restaurant also currently provides concessions for Ascension Christian Schools.

Dearman’s South is located at 174 South Blvd. After Aug. 29, it will be open Wednesdays and Thursdays from 4 p.m. “until late,” Fridays and Saturdays from noon until late, and Sundays from noon to 10 p.m. It’s closed on Mondays and Tuesdays.