Hwy 55 Burgers, Shakes & Fries, a retro-themed diner chain out of South Carolina, is opening its first Louisiana restaurant on Monday next to the Rotolo’s Craft and Crust at the corner of Ben Hur Road and Burbank Drive.
The 1950s themed restaurant serves hamburgers, cheesesteaks, milkshakes and frozen custards all prepared in an open kitchen, Louie’s Cafe-style.
The Baton Rouge Hwy 55 will be franchise owner Jason Hall’s sixth restaurant opening since 2014. He says he chose Baton Rouge hoping to capitalize on the student population.
“I got in the restaurant business when I was going to business school. I was eating at a local restaurant, and I decided to take one back to my hometown,” Hall says.
Since then, Hall purchased the rights to be the company’s master franchisee for Arkansas and Louisiana, with plans to open more restaurants in the next eight years. He says maybe an LSU student will take to the diner the same way he did and open a franchise in his or her hometown.
The diner is the latest tenant to go into property owner Mitch Rotolo’s shopping center, along with an Express Bowls, Brush Dental and Rotolo’s.
