On April 19, 1991, LSU freshman Fred Simonson took a job as a dishwasher at Louie’s Cafe, already a Baton Rouge institution since 1941. After 35 years of cooking and management, Simonson now owns Louie’s with his wife, Molly Rivers Simonson, who is the front-of-house manager at Elsie’s Plate and Pie.
He is only the third owner since the cafe’s inception. The couple bought the restaurant from Jimmy Wetherford, the owner since the 1978, as a way to continue Louie’s legacy.
Simonson credited his wife for her vision and restaurant experience.
“I want to get the ball downfield,” Fred Simonson said, “and she’s got some ideas to inject, and she’s going to be able to inject some energy that’s not different, but a fresh perspective.”
But he assured local fans that all of their favorites will stay on the menu, including the hash browns, omelets and pancakes.
“I’m trying to give Baton Rouge this restaurant,” he said. “To do the best we can to give the city a place that’s available seven days a week, that’s democratic in terms of our price point and what we offer — which is somewhere between good value and ridiculous value. It’s honest food.”
‘This is what I know how to do’
Hashbrowns at Louie’s Cafe.
Serena Puang
With the exception of a semester in 1997 to graduate from college and a brief finance career in New York City from September 2000 to February 2001, Louie’s has been Fred Simonson’s second home. He said that he left the big lights of New York and came back to Baton Rouge because he “missed Louie’s.”
“There’s always a challenge. There’s always something to do,” he said. “You don’t have to look very far to find a project to initiate or to fix something, cook something or clean something.”
The cafe, which is open from 6:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. seven days a week, is a staple of the Baton Rouge food scene, especially for those on LSU’s campus. For many years, the cafe operated 24 hours, and Fred Simonson remembers that era all too well, since he worked nights for 13 years as a shift manager. He started at the old location on State Street and became the general manager at the expanded Louie’s on Lake Street in 2014.
He said that he’s honored to carry on the cafe’s legacy
“When Jimmy offered it as a point of continuance, I was pretty floored,” he said. “He could have done this a different way.”
For those Baton Rouge Louie’s fans who are hoping for a return to the 24/7 days and nights, the new owner said he has advice to give to anyone out there who wants to run a 24-hour-from-scratch restaurant adjacent to LSU’s campus. He said that the human toll is too great on him and his employees.
“It’s a relentless grind,” he said. “You’re not racing the clock. You are the clock.”
However, he and his wife are thinking about extending the hours into the evening or possibly offering a food truck in the evenings.
“We want to focus on giving people the best product that we can in the hours we are available,” he said. “I’ve been the general manager for a long time. This is what I know how to do. We’re not diluting the brand.”
Dining and Cooking