VooDoo BBQ plans expansion, new look

2012 could be a big year for Baton Rouge-based VooDoo BBQ & Grill, with out-of-state openings and a new look for its restaurants in the coming months. VooDoo will open its first location outside of Louisiana later this month in Greenville, S.C., part of an eight-unit expansion that includes sites in Anderson, Charleston, Columbia and Rock Hill, S.C., and in Asheville, N.C. By midyear, VooDoo franchises are also scheduled to open in Florida and Texas. “We plan to build on [2011] momentum,” VooDoo CEO Tony Avila says. The company is simultaneously working on a new design for restaurants, including an open kitchen and more seating space. Avila says he and other VooDoo leaders currently are reviewing artists’ renderings. “What guests want is really, really good food at a fair price point, fast,” Avila says. “We want our managers to be right there in the kitchen, making sure the quality of the product is always to our high standards, while being able to see the reactions of the guests and respond to their needs when necessary.”