Local pizza lovers can celebrate when Reginelli’s Pizzeria opens its second Baton Rouge location in March.
While the chain currently has seven restaurants in New Orleans and one near campus on West Chimes Street, Darryl Reginelli, the owner of Reginelli’s, has announced plans to open a second local site for the restaurant on Jefferson Highway near Government Street.
Reginelli said he hopes to open about four or five additional restaurants in Baton Rouge in the future.
Steven Castay, general manager at the Reginelli’s on West Chimes, said he has been with the company for more than seven years and expects the new 3,000-square-foot location on Jefferson to have a unique setup thanks to the building’s wide shape.
Reginelli initially expanded to Baton Rouge after several successful years in New Orleans, when he realized he wanted to branch out to other cities after seeing how vulnerable the city was in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Baton Rouge seemed like the next logical move for the restaurant’s expansion, he said.
When Reginelli discovered the location on Chimes, he said he thought the spot was a good fit.
“We weren’t specifically looking at the campus, but it was an opportunity that came up that we ended up taking,” he said.
Reginelli said he typically looks for locations near family neighborhoods, and the opening of the restaurant on Chimes, the first Reginelli’s dependent on campus business, was “a sort of an experiment.”
The Chimes Street restaurant is also the only location with a full bar. Reginelli said he would like to preserve the family environment in the upcoming location on Jefferson, which will only serve beer and wine at tables, as is the case with other Reginelli’s locations.
Reginelli said Baton Rouge also has the opportunity for a few more restaurants.
“We would like to continue to develop Baton Rouge,” he said. “We always intended to have more than one store in the area.”
Reginelli said he planned to open more restaurants in the Baton Rouge area sooner, but he was sidetracked with further expansion in the New Orleans area.
Reginelli expects the second Baton Rouge store will build brand awareness and recognition.
“The second location will help both stores and give more of an opportunity for people to come,” he said. 
Castay said he also expects to see an increase in business at the old restaurant after the opening of the new location on Jefferson.
“Anytime you have multiple stores in the city, it multiplies your customer base,” Castay said. “It’s always going to help to increase exposure to the restaurant.”
 
 
 
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Contact Kate Mabry at [email protected]