The wait is over for Cou-Yon’s fans who live in Baton Rouge. Instead of driving across the Mississippi River bridge to the popular Port Allen restaurant, they can now find its barbecue dishes on Perkins Road.
The new food trailer opened last month with a limited menu at the Acadian-Perkins Plaza parking lot. But the abbreviated menu does not appear to have deterred customers.
Four weeks into operations, and owners say the lines have been strong and steady. The support the Baton Rouge community has shown the team has been overwhelming, says part-owner Paul Mladenka.
“The community has really rallied behind us,” Mladenka says. “It’s allowed us to stay busy when a lot of other restaurants have not, and we’re extremely grateful.”
Though the food trailer’s menu is smaller than that of the Port Allen restaurant, it still includes appetizers, sides, sandwiches, barbecue plates and several specialty dishes. Loaded baked potatoes and baby-back ribs have been in especially high demand. Cou-Yon’s sells an average of 10,000 baked potatoes a month from its original location.
The business started in 1999 with about 10 employees but has expanded to around 70 staff members. Mladenka got involved with Cou-Yon’s in 2009.
The team got into the food truck business in 2010, parking in different spots around Baton Rouge on certain days of the week. This fall, a Cou-Yon’s trailer will be set up on LSU’s campus five days a week.
The original dining room in Port Allen has been closed since March because of the pandemic.
“We were planning on opening up the dining room at the end of June, but then the numbers started shooting back up and we just don’t want to take any unnecessary risks,” Mladenka says.
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