The Colonel’s Club: New Baton Rouge restaurant brings building’s history back to life

Editor’s Note: The spelling of Jesse Sheppard’s name has been corrected.

BATON ROUGE, La. (BRPROUD) — A new restaurant in the Baton Rouge Perkins Overpass area is bringing a part of the city’s history back to life.

The Colonel’s Club is described as an elevated restaurant and lounge serving American favorites with a modern twist, according to owner Jordan Piazza.

Piazza is the founder of Rebirth Brands , a restaurant group business behind local eateries and bars like Uncle Earl’s, The Caterie and Schlittz & Giggles. According to the website, Piazza grew up working in his father’s seafood restaurant, Phil’s Oyster Bar, and worked in the hospitality industry with the founders of Baton Rouge-born restaurants Walk On’s Sports Bistreaux and Raising Cane’s.

Rebirth Brands reintroduces brands that have a place in the Baton Rouge community’s past to “bring them back to life.” The newest addition is The Colonel’s Club, a restaurant paying homage to the building’s original owner, a pilot nicknamed “Colonel,” Jesse Sheppard.

Piazza said the place originally opened in 1936 as different businesses, including a hangar, polling precinct and refrigeration company. In the 1960s, the building opened as The Colonel’s Club. Piazza said it was rumored to have a members-only section upstairs. He said diners today shouldn’t expect to find it in the newly renovated building.

The business closed in the 1970s before opening again in the 1990s as the Old Colonel’s Club. In 2024, it opened again after an over $2 million investment into the over 6,000 square-foot building. Piazza said the structure is still owned by Sheppard’s family.

In its design process, Piazza wanted to make sure the style and decor paid homage to the building’s history and Sheppard’s travels. He said the lounge side of the restaurant is inspired by the New York Bowery Hotel . Piazza described the ambiance as warm, inviting and relaxing.

Different areas of the restaurant are decorated to represent and tell the story of Sheppard’s travels. Design firm Tiek Byday was part of putting the story together. The company has designed other Baton Rouge bars and restaurants, including Tsunami Highland, Mother’s Lounge and Lotus Lounge.

“We were very specific, detail-oriented,” said Piazza. They wanted everything to “have a meaning, which we think is cool because nowadays that gets lost.”

Piazza wants The Colonel’s Club to be a place that draws people from all walks of life. He said it could be a place where people can have date nights, business lunches and celebration events.

“We want people in the neighborhood and surrounding areas to have a place to come to multiple times a week and not get tired of it,” said Piazza.

The Colonel’s Club, located at 2857 Perkins Road, is set to open on Friday, Sept. 6.

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