So long, Sucre! Hello, Prima Apres!

Northshore-born eatery Prima Après is back with a new brick-and-mortar location in Baton Rouge on Corporate Boulevard, giving pasta lovers another spot to fill up on sauce-covered carbs, along with a bevy of sweets. The move comes at the same time Prima Après’ products have been chosen to be sold through the high-end national kitchenware and gourmet food retailer Williams Sonoma.

Prima Après’ latest local digs are at 5720 Corporate Blvd. in the spot formerly occupied by Sucré, a New Orleans-created sweet shop known for its specialty desserts. Prima Après husband-and-wife co-owners James Vitrano and Abney Harper were licensees of Sucré until litigation with the brand prompted a pivot, Harper told followers in a recent Instagram post. So Harper and Vitrano turned the space into a new home for Prima Après, the restaurant they created together.

“It was just meant to be because we had this location and we had a lease,” Harper says. “I always wanted to open a Prima Après in this part of town. It just worked out great.” 

Down came the pastel wallpaper of Sucré and in came Prima Après’ signature pasta and pavlova menu. But Harper says since customers were used to a bigger selection of sweet treats at that location, they expanded the menu to include more desserts, from cupcakes and cookies to macarons and gelatos. (Yes, macaron trees are still available through Prima Après.)

“The expansion of our dessert offering wasn’t what I originally anticipated when we founded the [Prima Après] brand, but it fits really nicely,” Harper says. “That’s something new and different. We truly have learned the sweet space to continue to provide such high-quality, beautiful products.” 

Prima Après’ savory offerings have also grown, with an updated menu that features proteins, soups and “toasties,” which are open-faced sandwiches made with toasted sourdough bread topped with melted aged white cheddar cheese. Pastas are made fresh using semolina flour and water and are shaped using bronze dies. Sauces are also made in house. Pastas are also made to order, and customers can customize their servings by choosing the shape, sauce and toppings ranging from red pepper flakes and olives to breadcrumbs and Parmigiano Reggiano cheese. 

Pavlovas, or French meringues, can also be customized. Prima Après’ signature treat layers the delicate dessert with gelato or sorbet. Customers can top their creations with other goodies like pink white chocolate shavings, sprinkles, raspberry coulis and more. Vitrano says the sound of the pavlova’s crunch makes for the ultimate ASMR. 

For those who can’t decide, there is also a specialty menu with pasta and pavlova combinations like the Pasta Muffuletta, with tomato sauce, olive tapenade, prosciutto and breadcrumbs and the Raspberry Royale, a pavlova with whipped cream, vanilla bean gelato, raspberry coulis, white chocolate and dark chocolate. 

“For 30 bucks, two people can come here and get some really great pasta,” Vitrano says. “And the fusion of desserts, I think, allows the guest to have a full European experience. I think the American food scene needs to move to a more approachable yet elevated quality food offering. And this is unbelievably clean. The pasta is just semolina flour and water. … It’s real food, so it’s like your mom or dad cooked for you if your mom or dad were a really, really talented chef.”

The brand also experienced what Harper calls a “dream come true” this year when its pastas and pavlovas were picked up by Williams Sonoma. Harper says she sent a few samples to the national chain and catalog company’s test kitchen to see if they were interested in Prima Après’ products. Now, customers across the globe can shop Prima Après’ goods, which are still made from scratch in Mandeville. 

“I was over the moon excited,” Harper says about the opportunity. 

The brand first made its move to the Capital Region with a restaurant near LSU’s campus on Nicholson Drive, but with ongoing construction in the area, Harper says the location was a tough spot. After one of the directors of marketing for LSU Dining saw the concept, Prima Après was asked to pop up on campus, which eventually led to its current semester-long stint in the Student Union. Harper says Prima Après has been invited back to its spot in the campus dining hub for the next school year as well. 

“I feel like that’s what Nicholson did for us—it got us in Baton Rouge,” Harper says. “James and I absolutely love it here. Because of Nicholson, it’s why we’re at LSU. And Nicholson is why we opened a Sucré here. It’s just sort of a full-circle moment for us.”

Prima Après is open Sunday through Thursday from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. and until 10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. It is located at 5720 Corporate Blvd., Ste. D.