Business at The Kolache Kitchen, a quick service bakery and cafe in the LSU area that specializes in its namesake menu item, is especially brisk at semester’s end.
Will Edwards—the 27-year-old subject of Business Report’s latest Entrepreneur feature—says his staff rings up about 500 transactions per day when LSU students are in finals mode. On an average day, by contrast, some 300 people order a sweet or savory kolache, made from scratch, or breakfast tacos and drinks. About half of all customers use the drive-thru.
“That’s a huge part of the concept,” Edwards says. “Some people are in a hurry or maybe don’t want to be seen.”
This month Edwards marks his second full year in business; revenue in 2014 was up 40% over 2013. On the strength of this growth, he signed a lease in December to open a second Kolache Kitchen location in the Bocage area on Jefferson Highway, next to the Bocage LA Rouge Mart convenience store in a space recently vacated by a Popeye’s.
“I knew there was demand,” he says. “There’s nothing really like my concept around here. It’s a higher-quality fast food at a good price point.”
Read the full Entrepreneur feature on Edwards. Send your comments to editors@businessreport.com.
