Salinas, CA – Chick-Fil-A
A Chick-Fil-A will soon be arriving in Salinas. It will be located at the Northridge Mall and is currently under construction, according to city officials. As reported by KSBW in March 2020, plans for the restaurant were approved in June 2019 and it was originally thought the restaurant would open in summer 2020. There are no Chick-Fil-A’s in Monterey County. Currently, the closest one is in San Jose on Blossom Hill Road.
New Orleans, LA – SoLou
The new restaurant Chef Peter Sclafani, Kiva Guidroz and Michael Boudreaux are opening in the former Rum House building will be called SoLou. SoLou comes from “South Louisiana” and will feature the culture and cuisine of the region, paired with an elevated dining experience and atmosphere.
The coronavirus pandemic took its toll on the Baton Rouge restaurant scene in 2020 as several popular eateries shut down.
Operating a restaurant is tough enough in the best of times, with the thin profit margins and an abundance of competitors. But the prolonged loss of customers and the reduction in seating capacity mandated by Gov. John Bel Edwards in an attempt to control the spread of the virus was too much of an obstacle for some businesses.Â
Here are some of the higher profile restaurants that shut their doors permanently in 2020:
White Star: The Government Street food hall, which sold everything from pizza to cocktails, was the first restaurant to close and blame the pandemic when it shut down on March 31. Some White Star tenants, such as Govât Taco, Reve Coffee Lab and ThaiHey Thaifood, have since opened freestanding locations.
Michael Boudreaux, a partner with the Juban s Restaurant Group, has joined a group working to put a new eatery in the former Rum House space on Perkins Road.
Boudreaux joins Chef Peter Sclafani and Kiva Guidroz as a partner in the venture. Plans are to open the restaurant, which doesnât currently have a name, in the upcoming year.