Corridor restaurants continue to expand

Corridor restaurants are continuing to expand along the corridor and beyond. Raising Cane’s, the popular chicken-finger chain that just opened a new location last week at Hammond Square, has just signed leases to open new restaurants in Broussard and Opelousas in August. Cane’s already has 45 locations in Louisiana, the majority of them along the corridor. Also, the New Orleans-born, Baton Rouge-based VooDoo BBQ & Grill Co. has sold its Houma market franchise to Edward and Angelle Thibodeaux. The restaurant will open later this year. VooDoo BBQ now has seven locations in Baton Rouge, New Orleans, St. Rose, Zachary, Hammond and Harahan. A Mandeville franchise is set to open June 8; locations at the Mall of Louisiana and in Denham Springs are set to open later this year. The 7-year-old company is working on getting into other markets along the corridor, including Lafayette and Lake Charles. And finally, Wags on the Levee is scheduled to open on Third Street in Baton Rouge by June 15. It’s the local version of Wags Food & Culture, a 16-year-old Marrero eatery. Wags will specialize in “Southern classic” dishes, such as gumbo, fried seafood, crawfish cornbread and stuffed bell peppers.