With the owners of the Commerce Building in downtown Baton Rouge still without a restaurant tenant for its 4,000-square-foot rooftop space, they’re now looking to rent the space out for private events.
Plans for a rooftop restaurant have not been scrapped, says Michael Lang, director of development at Key Real Estate, which owns the Commerce Building. Lang says owners are still actively looking for restaurant users that would be a good fit. The space is adjacent to a 2,000-square-foot patio area with sweeping views of the Mississippi River.
“Right now we’re going to have some special events,” Lang says. “But at the same time we’re still looking for restaurant users.”
Magpie Cafe is so far the sole commercial tenant on the first floor of the Commerce Building, which underwent a $30 million renovation several years ago to turn it into a mixed-use development with luxury apartments at the corner of Laurel and Third streets.
There are also two commercial spaces on the first floor that are empty. Lang says there has been strong interest in the spaces, but the owners have not yet found retailers that would fit well with the health and wellness direction that Magpie has helped foster.
“We’ve had commercial activity. For us it’s a matter of having the right fit,” Lang says, adding residential leasing has gone well. “I wouldn’t say it’s been slow.”
The Commerce Building had initially landed Gaudet Bros., a local barber shop with a location in Mid City, as a first-floor tenant to join Magpie. But Gaudet Bros. owner Micah Nickens says he decided to scrap his Baton Rouge locations and focus solely on New Orleans. He dropped out of the downtown space last spring.
“It just seemed like time to pick a city,” says Nickens, who now co-owns The Parker Barber in New Orleans.
—Sam Karlin
