Portico set to open second Baton Rouge location in Southdowns

It’s been about a year since Monroe-based Portico opened its first Baton Rouge location on Coursey Boulevard, and its owners are now planning to open their second bar and grill in the city at the Southdowns Village Shopping Center. “We really like that area, and that’s originally where we wanted to open when we came to Baton Rouge,” says Stephen Walker, who founded Portico with Kenny O’Neil. “We feel like there’s a whole different demographic of people there who will like what we have to offer.” Portico will take over the space that was formerly home to Romacelli Bistro, which closed in February, and before that, Enoteca Marcello’s Wine Bar & Café. “We’re going to be doing a little bit of remodeling to make the patio bigger, open up the bar side to the patio and do some other cosmetic changes just to open the space up,” Walker says. “We’re going to fast-track it.” Walker says he hopes to have the bar and grill open by Halloween, but adds the roughly 3,500-square-foot space may not be ready until a few weeks after. It will be the fourth Portico location since the business was launched in Monroe in 2006. A second location opened in Ruston in 2009, and the former Calendar’s at Sherwood Forest and Coursey boulevards was extensively renovated for the third. —Steve Sanoski