‘Real Estate Weekly’: Riverside Patty closes Third Street location after 30 years

After 30 years of serving up burgers and lunch fare at 336 Third St. in downtown Baton Rouge, Riverside Patty has closed its doors. Restaurant owner Nader Tahmasebi says two reasons are behind Riverside’s closure, which occurred Wednesday: He couldn’t work out a new lease with the building’s owner, and business has been sapped by food trucks that have increasingly been frequenting the downtown area. “It was [a tough decision to make], but if you don’t have revenue coming in and the rent is going up and the food costs are going up, you don’t have much choice,” Tahmasebi says. A second Riverside Patty location at 10933 Cloverland Ave., near the intersection of Siegen Lane, remains open. DDD Executive Director Davis Rhorer says the food trucks that frequent downtown are typically “nowhere near” Riverside Patty or any other downtown restaurant, per a verbal agreement with the DDD. He speculates any dip in Riverside Patty’s business in recent years is due to an increase in other brick-and-mortar restaurants in the area competing for lunch business. “It was a well-known downtown institution,” Rhorer says of Riverside Patty. “But I also know the owner has some plans for a renovation and wants to upgrade [the property].” The full story can be found in the new Real Estate Weekly e-newsletter, which is available here. —Steve Sanoski