In the span of just two days in early March, two major Texas-based companies announced plans to break into the Louisiana market with their first locations in Baton Rouge.
As Business Report details in a feature from its current issue, Buc-ee’s, the iconic Texas rest stop and convenience store chain, announced it will open its first location outside of the Lone Star State at the Greens at Millerville, a 56-acre development at Millerville Road and Interstate 12.
News of Buc-ee’s entrance into Louisiana came a day after Dallas-based Main Event Entertainment announced it will open its first family entertainment center in Louisiana at the Siegen Lane Marketplace near Interstate 10, where it will lease a 49,810-square-foot space.
But Buc-ee’s and Main Event Entertainment aren’t alone in launching their Louisiana presence via Baton Rouge. Other companies that have done the same in recent years include Trader Joe’s, MOOYAH Burgers, Newk’s Eatery, Which Wich, Cowboy Chicken, Java Mama and Freddy’s Frozen Custard & Steakburgers, among others.
So what makes Baton Rouge such an attractive option for national and regional retailers looking to enter the Louisiana market?
“It’s on the interstate, it has the traffic, they have the employment base, it has LSU—which is a great college town and a great college experience,” explains Buc-ee’s owner and founder Arch “Beaver” Aplin. “So Baton Rouge is kind of ideal for us because it has everything we want: the traffic, interstate, population base and special events.”
It’s a recipe that attracts a lot of out-of-state companies—especially retailers and restaurants—to Baton Rouge, says Maestri-Murrell Inc. senior commercial brokerage and leasing executive Jonathan Walker.
“We kind of joke that the retailers that expand here, they come like the weather does: from the west. They tend to fill in Texas first before they get here,” he says. “It could be franchise driven or corporate driven, but most of these new retailers are franchise driven, and usually, when they do come to Louisiana, they tend to start in Baton Rouge because it is one of the most densely populated areas of the state.”
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