A South Louisiana red-sauce chain is setting up shop along Bayou Lafourche, with Fratelli's Italian Grill planning a new location at 13960 W Main St in Larose. The spot sits in a building that spent years as Happy Gardens Restaurant, a long-running Chinese eatery and buffet, before that business closed for good.
As WhatNow New Orleans first reported, Fratelli's is known for classic red-sauce fare, with a menu that includes fried calamari, veal parmigiana, and shrimp fettuccine alfredo. The Larose location is expected to add specialty pizzas and an extensive wine list, continuing the chain's formula of blending casual neighborhood pizzeria vibes with sit-down Italian-American dining. WhatNow reached out to Fratelli's ownership for details about the opening, but the company declined to share additional specifics, including a firm timeline for construction or a launch date.
Filling a Vacant Bayou Corridor Storefront
The adaptive reuse of the old buffet building puts a new business into a highly visible stretch of Larose, an unincorporated community in south-central Lafourche Parish that sits along both Bayou Lafourche and the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway. The community carries a 2024 census-estimated population of 5,515 and a median household income of $80,577, according to the U.S. Census Bureau — figures that frame Larose as a mid-sized coastal hub with comparatively strong buying power for rural Lafourche Parish.
Larose sits within a much larger Lafourche Parish, which recorded a 2020 population of 97,557 spread across 1,469 square miles, roughly 60 miles southwest of New Orleans and 65 miles south of Baton Rouge, per the Lafourche Parish Site Selection Center. Local traffic through the area runs along Louisiana Highway 1 and Louisiana Highway 308, which trace opposite banks of the bayou, plus the four-lane Highway 3235 bypass, according to the site's Wikipedia entry — the kind of corridor access that typically draws sit-down chains eyeing new coastal markets.
A Chain Already Rooted Across South Louisiana
Fratelli's Italian Grill already serves traditional Italian-American dining across multiple Louisiana parishes, with an existing location in LaPlace and additional outposts in Prairieville, Slidell, Denham Springs, and Central. The LaPlace restaurant at 405 Belle Terre Boulevard operates six days a week, closed Mondays, and serves seafood pasta specials, baked pasta combos, and pizzas, according to a Facebook post from the business.
The brand has picked up regional recognition along the way. In July 2025, the Prairieville location earned runner-up honors for Best Restaurant in Ascension Parish in 225 Magazine's 2025 Best of 225 Awards, pulling in 10.89% of the category vote, per inRegister. Earlier, in February 2024, 225 Magazine spotlighted Fratelli's for its signature vodka sauce, built by emulsifying caramelized tomatoes with vodka — a dish that's become something of a calling card for the chain.
A Pattern of Steady, Permitted Growth
Public records show the chain has a documented history of methodically pursuing new sites and licensing. In April 2023, Fratelli's filed a Notice of Intent application with the East Baton Rouge Parish Alcoholic Beverage Control Board to secure liquor licensing for a spot inside the Mall of Louisiana on Bluebonnet Boulevard. And at its Slidell location on Gause Boulevard, public health inspection records confirm the restaurant holds dual active regulatory permits covering both food service and alcohol, a standard the Larose build-out would presumably need to clear as well.
With ownership staying quiet on timing, there's no confirmed opening date for the Larose restaurant yet. But the move continues a pattern for Fratelli's Italian Grill, which is expanding its presence across Louisiana parish by parish, carrying its combination of neighborhood pizzeria comfort and full-service Italian-American dining into a bayou community that had been without a dedicated sit-down option since Happy Gardens shut its doors.
