Students will have another nightlife venue option come fall, and the charred gap in the Acadian-Perkins Plaza will finally be filled.
The Catarie, not to be confused with The Caterie, will open in the same location as its predecessor with a comparable menu and music entertainment but under different management, according to co-owner Dwaine Henderson.
“It’s going to be similar. We’re going to do sandwiches and daily specials like The Caterie did, but we’re going to do more of a New Orleans style,” he said.
Henderson said he hopes The Catarie will open before football season.
Part of the building was destroyed in a fire Jan. 1, 2010, and building owner Jon Claitor broke ground to rebuild this past March.
“I can’t tell you how many people have contacted me asking when The Caterie was going to come back,” Claitor said. “[It’s] going to have the same format as [it] did before the fire.”
Claitor is creating an 18,000 square-foot suite in the plaza, and The Catarie will take up 4,000 square feet of that.
No other business has secured a spot in new two-story suite, but Claitor said Firehouse Subs, Subway, T.G.I. Friday’s, Twin Peaks, Santa Fe Cattle Co., a yogurt company and a California grocery store have shown interest in renting.
Claitor said he also plans to build a parking garage behind the plaza.
 
____ Contact Danielle Kelley at [email protected]