Local health care executive Lloyd Ruffins, brother of famed New Orleans trumpeter Kermit Ruffins, is bringing a live music club to downtown Baton Rouge.
Ruffins Downtown Daiquiri Lounge will open Friday at 602 Main St. in the space previously occupied by Club Coco Bongo, which closed earlier this spring. As its name implies, Ruffins’ establishment will be a daiquiri bar as well as a music venue. The lounge has a stage in the center—where Ruffins plans to showcase local and regional jazz, zydeco and R&B musicians—as well two bars, with one for daiquiris and beer and the other for liquor.
“I like to think of it as a live music club that serves daiquiris,” Lloyd Ruffins says.
Lloyd Ruffins, who owns a medical supply company on Essen Lane, moved to the Baton Rouge area from his native New Orleans six years ago and has no prior experience in the nightclub business. But he says he got interested in the idea because it seemed like a good opportunity and a good location.
With new residential developments downtown, the number of entertainment venues is growing. Several blocks away, John Delgado is planning to open a high-end, Las Vegas-style music club in the old Louisiana Theater Building at 336 N. Third St.
Ruffins’ Downtown Daiquiri Lounge initially will be open five days a week, Tuesday through Saturday. Friday’s opening is a soft opening and will not feature live music, though Lloyd Ruffins says he hopes to have his first act perform in the next couple of weeks.
—Stephanie Riegel
