Gatti’s Pizza closed its doors this week after 30 years of serving the LSU community.
Louis Handal, the former general manager of Gatti’s at North Gate, said there were two main reasons for the closure – traffic and inflation.
Handal said the change of Infirmary Road to a one-way street made it less necessary for people to drive down Lake Street.
He said there were still a lot of regular customers that came into the restaurant, but the restaurant needed the impulse buyers it would get from the healthy flow of traffic around the restaurant.
“Overall, being in that niche of Highland Road and traffic being cut off a bit hurt us significantly,” Handal said.
Handal said the rise in the price of milk also contributed to the closure of Gatti’s.
He said the rise in the price of milk also brought a rise in the price of cheese.
“Our cheese prices went from $1.50 to $2.50 – another dollar per pound,” Handal said. “Inflation really hurt.”
Handal said the closure was a tough business decision based on profit-loss.
Although the Gatti’s at North Gate is closed, the franchise has expanded to more than 150 restaurants across the Southwest, including new restaurants opening in Mississippi and Tennessee.
Phil Moody, the landowner of the closed restaurant, plans to open a new restaurant at the same location, Handal said.
“Nothing is written in stone, but we’re considering opening up a coffee shop in the morning and a sandwich shop for lunch and dinner,” Handal said. “We’re not interested in selling the land. We’re going to open up another restaurant concept.”
Handal wanted the LSU community to know that Moody, an LSU alumnus, was grateful to LSU and its customers.
“It was very close to his heart,” Handal said. “He did everything possible to stay open as long as he could.”
—-Contact J.J. Alcantara at [email protected]