Editor’s Note: Perkins Panache shopping center is located between Essen Lane and Bluebonnet Boulevard. The original version of this story incorrectly reported its location. Daily Report regrets this error.
A Baton Rouge family is entering the restaurant business with plans to open a new Vietnamese restaurant in the Perkins Panache shopping center space formerly occupied by Spice Bistro & Bar.
Chau Huynh says her family will hold a grand opening for Bảo Vietnamese Kitchen in the first week of April. A public soft opening will take place on March 25, according to the restaurant’s website.
Bảo Vietnamese Kitchen will serve authentic, fresh and healthy Vietnamese cuisine, Huynh says, adding the idea is to recreate the tastes and atmosphere of Vietnam.
“We’re hoping the taste and the feel of the atmosphere will bring people to Vietnam without flying and spending the money,” she says.
Huynh co-owns the restaurant will her husband, Tam Nguyen, and her mother, Len Tran, who she says is the restaurant’s main cook and the sources of its recipes.
The family signed a lease for the roughly 5,000-square-foot space in January, but they only plan to use a little over 3,000 square feet, Huynh says, adding the additional space has been walled off and there will seating for roughly 60.
“It’s a good location. It definitely has the crowd that we’re looking for,” Huynh says of Perkins Panache, which is located at 8342 Perkins Road, between Essen Lane and Bluebonnet Boulevard. “We’re hoping to cater to the working professionals and, at the same time, at night we’re hoping to cater to the families in the neighborhood. I definitely think we need to have more Vietnamese restaurants on this side of town.”
Huynh says owning a restaurant has been her dream since she was in high school. For now, she says her family plans to start small and, if successful, will expand their location at the Perkins Panache shopping center.
—Alexandria Burris
