Walk-On’s Enterprises—the restaurant company that operates Walk-On’s Bistreaux & Bar, Happy’s Irish Pub and Walk-On’s Catering—has moved from its 4,500-square-foot location on Main Street downtown to a 7,000-square-foot space just a few blocks away on Third Street.
Amidst hiring five new corporate positions and introducing the Walk-On’s brand at the annual National Restaurant Association Show in Chicago, Walk-On’s Enterprises co-owner Brandon Landry says he realized the company had outgrown the 460 Main St. office it has occupied for the past four years.
“We needed to expand,” he says. “We needed more space … [but] we knew we wanted to stay downtown.”
Landry talked to Chenevert Architects, which was looking to downsize its office space at 232 Third St. Meanwhile, Level Homes—located adjacent to the former Walk-On’s Enterprises headquarters—had also outgrown its 3,500-square-foot office at 450 Main St. So Level Homes purchased 460 Main St. from H&E Properties LLC for $650,000, while the restaurant company moved a few blocks down to its new and larger location on the second floor of 232 Third St.
“It worked out perfectly,” Landry says.
The Walk-On’s move was completed last week, Landry says, and Todd Waguespack—managing member for Level Homes—says Level Homes hopes to be settled into its newly expanded space in about a month.
But Walk-On’s Enterprises’ corporate office expansion downtown is hardly the most exciting move it has planned, Landry says. After officially launching its Walk-On’s franchise by the end of the year, the company plans to open three new Walk-On’s Bistreaux & Bar locations in 2015. The first new restaurant will be in Houma, and Walk-On’s plans to break ground there by the end of the year.
Landry is more tight-lipped about the other two deals, however, but says they should be finalized within the next couple of weeks. Both will be located in Louisiana, he says, and at least one of them will be in Baton Rouge.
Walk-On’s co-founders Landry and Jack Warner—who formerly operated a number of restaurants and bars under the Last In Concepts umbrella—went their separate ways earlier this year. Landry retained the Last In Concepts name, but has since changed it to Walk-On’s Enterprises. He has partnered with New Orleans-based businessman Rick Farrell to continue to grow Walk-On’s and Happy’s. Warner has assumed sole ownership of The Roux House and Schlittz & Giggles. Read a Business Report story from March on the split.
