Construction of a new Superior Grill location in the Kenilworth Shopping Center is well underway, but the restaurant likely will not be completed and open for business until early fall.
That’s several months later than originally planned, but routine construction delays have pushed the completion date back, says Brian Whitley, the restaurant’s manager.
“We’re shooting for August or maybe September,” Whitley says. “Faulk and Meek, our contractors, are doing a great job with the construction. It just always takes longer than you plan.”
The new restaurant, which broke ground last July, will be located on the site of a demolished building that fronted the Kenilworth Shopping Center on Highland Road at Kenilworth Parkway. The site previously housed Arzi’s restaurant and, before that, Monjuni’s.
Whitley says the new restaurant will resemble in its architectural style and feel the other Superior Grill in the market at 5435 Government St. Contractors are using reclaimed building materials, including columns and beams from a 19th century Amish barn in Wisconsin, to give the establishment a sense of authenticity and character.
In addition to the locations in operation and under construction in Baton Rouge, Superior Grill also operates restaurants in New Orleans, Shreveport and Birmingham, Alabama. Its parent company also operates Superior Seafood and Oyster Bar in New Orleans and Cocina Superior in Birmingham.
The new Superior Grill isn’t the only major change to the aging Kenilworth Shopping Center, which was built in the 1960s. In 2015, New Orleans-based Robért Fresh Market acquired the center’s anchor tenant, a Matherne’s Supermarket, and recently began a thorough renovation of the store’s interior and exterior.
—Stephanie Riegel
