Reception hall planned for Third Street

Local restaurateur Andy Blouin and his partners—whose growing portfolio of nightclubs and eateries includes Serrano’s, Blend, Boudreaux and Thibodeaux’s, as well as the Edible Events catering company—are planning to open a reception hall on the second floor of the former Latil Stationery building on Third Street downtown. Blouin and Sean Malone acquired the historic property in late 2011 for $815,000 and have been working on plans to redevelop the 12,000-square-foot space ever since. In the next few weeks, they plan to begin renovating the 1920s-era building. The 6,000-square-foot second floor will house the reception hall and Edible Events. The 6,000-square-foot ground floor is divided into two 3,000-square-foot spaces. Lease negotiations are in the final stages for one of the spaces with a tenant whom Blouin says intends to open a sports bar and restaurant on the increasingly bustling street. He declines to identify the tenant. The other ground floor space is available for lease. Blouin believes the historic building, which has floor-to-ceiling windows on its second floor and unique architectural features, will be a venue unlike any other in the area. “It’s an intimate space that is not too big, and you can dress it up or dress it down,” he says. “We have already had people wanting to book it for parties and have had to start turning them away.” —Stephanie Riegel