A new Italian restaurant is planned for the former DeAngelo’s space in the Jefferson Village Shopping Center at 7970 Jefferson Highway.
The new restaurant will be called LaContea and will be the fifth establishment for owner Alfredo Kulici, who was born in Albania and trained as a chef in London. But Kulici’s restaurants, which are located in east Texas and Lake Charles, are not part of a chain or franchise operation, he says. Each is unique, with its own name and culinary theme.
LaContea will be a casual Italian dining restaurant with a menu of meat, seafood and pasta dishes as well as pizza.
Kulici, who moved with his family to the U.S. in 2003, says he has been eyeing the Baton Rouge market for a while and believes the area has a lot of untapped potential. He says his Lake Charles restaurant, LaVoglia, has far exceeded expectations.
The 6,000-square-foot space that will house the new restaurant is currently undergoing a renovation that Kulici estimates will cost more than $500,000. He says the former DeAngelo’s, which closed in 2015, has been completely gutted and will have a totally new look when completed. The space will seat 190 and have a private dining room.
Kulici originally hoped to be open for Christmas, but delays in the permitting process have slowed things down. His new target opening date is sometime in January.
LaContea will be the second new restaurant for the Jefferson Village Shopping Center. A Creole bistro, Eliza, opens this week.
Kulici says he and Eliza owner Russell Davis have met and are encouraged to have friendly competition in the same retail center.
“It’s good for both of us because it brings more people to the shopping center,” he says. “You want other businesses that bring people here.”
—Stephanie Riegel
