Restaurants in major cities across the country are struggling to adjust to labor shortages, rising food costs, steep rents and the expectations of modern diners who are one click away from posting a damning Yelp review. Some are downsizing, some are shutting their doors. Others are turning to catering, special events and delivery apps like Waitr to squeeze out more revenue. We wanted to find out: Is Baton Rouge’s growing restaurant scene heading in the same direction?
We talked to owners and workers at restaurants like Beausoleil, Mestizo and Zorba’s, instructors at Louisiana Culinary Institute and the chef-owner behind one of the newest Baton Rouge hotspots, BRQ Seafood & Barbeque, about their own challenges. Plus, we polled nearly 100 area restaurant owners and got some revealing numbers about the state of the local restaurant scene .