Piccadilly Cafeteria Loses Its Jeff Highway Location

Piccadilly Cafeteria, the Baton Rouge-based cafeteria company with outposts across 12 states, is closing its Jeff Highway location at the end of February. While the cafeteria isn’t known for cutting edge food or a celebrity chef, it is known as a reliable spot for affordable food, like the unbeatable $2 kids plate and the all-you-can-eat fried chicken.

It was also a community hub to some locals and an unfussy place of reprieve for those visiting family at the nearby hospital. In the words of one regular Eater spoke to: “Everyone secretly loves Piccadilly.”

According to Max Jordan, Vice President of Marketing for Piccadilly, the cafeteria’s lease ended. The landlord chose to lease the property to RaceTrac gas station and convenience store in a move that disappointed neighbors because of the zoning changes required.

Jordan says that the company is in “growth mode” in 2018, with plans to open new locations and renovate others. The company has looked into opening another Piccadilly on Jeff Highway, but none of the locations it has looked at have been a good fit.

The first Piccadilly Cafeteria opened in Baton Rouge during World War II. In 1998, it purchased its major competitor, Morrison’s Cafeteria. In the last decade, Piccadilly introduced Piccadilly Food Service (serving schools and other institutions) and Piccadilly Emergency Services (providing emergency meals during crisis like hurricanes).

Employees have already been notified of the closure and Jordan says the company will try to transfer as many of them as possible to other Piccadilly locations.

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