Born and raised in Houma, Louisiana, one young Baton Rouge entrepreneur is rapidly seeing his foodie dream realized. Inspired by his Cajun roots and his upbringing in a restaurant-owning family, Chase Lyons turned his passion into profit with the birth and swift expansion of City Pork in Baton Rouge. Upon graduating from LSU with a degree in psychology and a minor in business, Lyons decided to pursue his idea of introducing a new food concept to Baton Rouge. With a little help from Google, Lyons found his way to Austin, Texas, where he spent a year learning the ins and outs of meat production at a nationally acclaimed deli and charcuterie. Once he gained the tools and the knowledge to do it on its own, Lyons headed back to Baton Rouge ready to see his vision realized. After opening up two locations in just 13 months, City Pork is well on its way to becoming a Baton Rouge institution, and its loyal following seems eager to help it grow. —Gabrielle Braud
2010: While still a student at LSU, Chase Lyons teams up with this friend and original partner, Trey Williams, a full-time real estate broker with NAI/Latter & Blum, to pursue the idea of opening up a gourmet sandwich shop and charcuterie. Lyons enters “Best sandwich shop in America” into Google and finds the Noble Pig, known today as the Noble Sandwich Co. in Austin, Texas, which had been voted at the time as one of the best sandwich shops in America by Food & Wine Magazine.
2011: Lyons contacts Noble Pig’s two owners to ask if they were hiring. Though they were not looking to fill any positions, they invite Lyons to Austin to see what he was made of. After two days of washing dishes for free in the kitchen, Lyons is hired full-time thanks to his relentless work ethic.
2012: Lyons returns to Baton Rouge with a vision for his new restaurant: a gourmet sandwich shop and charcuterie with fresh ingredients sourced locally—with everything from the bread to the dressings and the meats made in house. Williams and Lyons zero in on a home in the old Bee Hive Salon on Perkins Road under the interstate. It took months to purchase the property and over a year to gut and renovate the location.
2013: City Pork Deli and Charcuterie opens in December with much notoriety. The line was out the door at 11 a.m., and the deli ran out of its house-made bread by 3:30 p.m.
Summer 2014: After Williams and Lyons partner with Stephen Hightower, a 25-year veteran of the restaurant industry, Hightower gets word that the Dempsey’s location on Jefferson Highway is becoming available. The newly formed trio jumps at the opportunity to secure what they believe is prime real estate—surrounded by neighborhoods like Goodwood and Bocage—for their restaurant concept.
September 2014: After securing the new location, the team decides to diversify its business model and menu by opting to create a full-service restaurant. The trio set out to find what Lyons characterizes as the best chef that Baton Rouge could offer, Ryan André of Le Creole, to spearhead the new project. Two months later, Chef Sean Rivera, who previously worked at the now-defunct Niche, The Little Village and Bistro Byronz, takes over the kitchen at the Perkins Road location.
December 2014: City Pork Brassiere and Bar officially opens its doors on Jefferson Highway. Having been the scene of other restaurant concepts, the owners of City Pork hope to find success in their new location.
