Longtime Mexican staple Ninfa’s Mexican Restaurant is being rebranded as Tío Javi’s Fresh-Mex Bar & Grill at the end of the month as the restaurant works to establish its own brand and builds upon the legacy of the late founder T.J. Moran.
The name change pays homage to current restaurant general manager Javier Pallais, who has worked for the Moran family at Ninfa’s, as well as both of the family’s TJ Ribs locations on College Drive and Siegen Lane, since 2010. T.J. Moran, the veteran Baton Rouge restaurateur and philanthropist who died earlier this year, opened Ninfa’s at 4738 Constitution Ave. in 1990.
“I didn’t know they were going to do this,” says Pallais, a 25-year restaurant veteran who is becoming a partner in the restaurant with Burke Moran, son of T.J. Moran. “I was definitely shocked.”
Pallais stresses that everything at the restaurant—the menu, drinks, staff and managers—will remain the same except the name and logo. Pallais says the change is not an indictment against the Ninfa’s brand or its corporate office in Texas, but it is instead a way for the restaurant to forge its own brand.
“Same great food, same great experience,” Pallais says in a text message.
On its Facebook page, the restaurant is asking customers to help select a new logo by voting for one of six options—all of which feature the Tío Javi’s Fresh-Mex Bar & Grill in different colors over a brightly colored background.
Pallais says the restaurant will hold a block party on Sept. 30 to unveil the new logo and name on the sign. The voting will end on Sept. 14.
“Our customers have always been at the center of what we do. As we move forward with TÍo Javi’s, we’d like our customers to feel apart of the change by selecting our new logo,” the company says on its Facebook page.
—Ryan Broussard
