35 thoughts on “936 University Parkway: Opening Soon”

  1. Anyone who has ever tried it will tell that running a restaurant is tough. They operate on tight margins…yeah, some of the more successful ones will generate a lot in gross revenues but most of their expenses are variable costs: food and personnel. Lunch is critical. Restaurants need to make hay at lunch.

  3. Think about all the visitors that come thru Natchitoches right down University Parkway and are looking for Louisiana cuisine. Give it a try. Like everything else time will tell. We do have a variety of restaurants in our small town. As a small business owner we need to visit our local restaurants when we can to help support them and our own economy. It’s not cheap to run a business. There are a lot of factors that go into the general public forgets about. Also does anyone have anything positive to say. And as far kid friendly goes most are but they are not baby sitters.

    • Hmmm, if I were Cracker Barrel, I’d want to compare how many people make the drive into town from I-49. With so many fast food places right there at the exit ramps, are people willing to spend the extra time to come all the way into town? There’s plenty of space on University Parkway between where it intersects the interstate and the Super One intersection (Highway 1?). That’s where I’d build a Cracker Barrel.

      • They might be concerned with cannibalizing sales from the restaurant between Natchitoches and Alexandria on I49. National chains do consider things like that.

  4. Not enough people here to support what we have already. You don’t understand what it takes to be profitable in a restaurant these days .

    • Definitely! I think it could work. There are a lot of retirees here in Natch who enjoy the Cracker Barrel’s food (not to mention quite a few of us “young people”), and certainly a lot of traffic from I-49.

  6. Is this like Pirogues was back in the day??? After Pizza Inn shut down, the “Cajun cooking” restaurant Pirogues took over. It was a good place to eat, but I find it interesting that this seems just like a repeat of what happened with the Pizza Inn/ Pirogues establishments. Hmmm….

  9. Everyone here has a “shopping list” of restaurant requirements and national chains that they believe fit the bill, trouble is most don’t seem to have a clue that these chains have market studies done to determine the economic viability of a potential location. Some of those factors include the quality and availability of the workforce, median income of their target market, costs of utilities and insurance as well as the existing competition for consumer dollars. I guarantee you’d see Jason”s Deli, Olive Garden, Logan’s, et. al. here if the numbers were “right”. All this talk without looking at the market forces is just noise.

  10. Again Holly if there is such a demand for it here is YOUR opportunity to open another one and not make the same mistakes. $$$$

    • Holly, I don’t know what your definition of affordable is, if you think The Landing and Mariner’s are affordable. And, no, I still don’t think either one is family-friendly when you have a young child (like 6 or 7) with you. You could be right about Lasyone’s, but I don’t think they’re open in the evenings.

  11. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: A fish place like Captain D’s would probably do well here because they have a drive thru. If only Sam’s had one! Loosing Dickey’s means I won’t be able to get barbeque unless I dress up and go to the Cane River Grill (not open on Monday nights, BTW).

      • Is Grayson’s that place in Clarence? I agree; their food is good and they aren’t stingy with the portions.

        Is Red’s on Texas St.? Sometimes when I drive by, I don’t see any cars out front, so I figure they’re closed.

  12. We need a BUFFET! Home cooking food. Almost Home is “almost” a buffet, but they limit you on how many items to get.

      • I don’t know what Jason’s Deli is like, but if you remember, there was a place called Dagwood’s in the same strip mall is Lucky Village. It was great food, but too pricey. An affordable deli would give Subway a run for its money.

    • I love Almost Home. My gripe with them is that they aren’t open for dinner. Those of us who work across town and only have a 30-minute lunch break are just outta luck. I’ve never seen them open on weekends, either.

    • We have 2 Chinese restaurants already, more hamburger places than I can count, and, at last count, at least 4 Mexican places. Once the novelty of any of the restaurants you name wears off, they’d just be competing for the same customers as every other restaurant.

  14. Yet again more of the same. I so wish we could get an Indian restaurant or a Middle Eastern restaurant, a Thai restaurant or an Ethiopian restaurant. Most of the restaurants in town serve the same food. This town really doesn’t need more gumbo, more etoufee, more catfish in any form.

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