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Double R expands Romacelli, POUR concepts Local restaurant group says it’s also in early stages of developing steakhouse concept in River Ranch.

Local restaurant group says it's also in early stages of developing steakhouse concept in River Ranch.

Double R Restaurant Group confirmed Monday that it will develop six additional Romacelli locations (original Lafayette location in River Ranch is pictured) in the next two years.

Lafayette-based Double R Restaurant Group, the largest franchisee of Another Broken Egg Cafés, announced Monday that it plans to expand two of its own concepts, Romacelli Bistro e Vino and POUR Restaurant & Bar, over the next two years. Double R says it also will launch a new steakhouse concept in River Ranch.

POUR's grilled oysters

The local group, which has 25 Another Broke Egg Cafés in the Southeast, says in a press release it will develop six new Romacelli restaurants and five POUR locations. Because the “high-end steakhouse concept” is still in the development phase, the company offered few details about it, saying only that it will include a "lively bar with premium steaks and a vibrant atmosphere."

“We have built a strong infrastructure and an experienced opening and operating team in the franchise world. Now, we are going to apply that talent to developing our own concepts as we continue to grow,” Stuart Ottinger, president of Double R Restaurant Group, says in the release.

Double R says it will leverage its common ownership with Southern Lifestyle Development, the entity that launched River Ranch and Sugar Mill Pond, by expanding the restaurant concepts to Southern Lifestyle's new Traditional Neighborhood Developments (TNDs) throughout Louisiana.

Romacelli, which offers gourmet pizzas, sandwiches, pastas and salads and has existing locations in River Ranch and Sugar Mill Pond, will be establishing new restaurants in the following areas of Louisiana:

POUR’s grilled hanger steak with grilled squash, zucchini and roasted red peppers topped with a chimichurri sauce.

In February, Double R teamed up with Lafayette businessman Walter Hidalgo to manage and operate POUR Restaurant & Bar and the adjoining De Gaulle Square Bistro & Bar in River Ranch’s Town Square. After an ongoing renovation of the side-by-side spaces is complete, the two concepts will operate as the singular POUR Restaurant & Bar.

POUR’s bar area was renovated earlier this year to give it more of a whiskey and wine bar atmosphere, and the next phase of renovations will be to the main dining area.

The dinner and lunch menu are both new (all of the restaurant’s meats are now aged in-house), and Sunday brunch was introduced. The brunch menu is available Sundays from 10:30 a.m. – 2 p.m. and offers items like Scott Egg (a Cajun twist on the breakfast classic, it's a battered and fried boudin ball stuffed with a soft boiled egg), duck confit and waffles, and grits and grillades.

Both the restaurant and bar are open seven days a week for lunch and dinner and offer the full menu from 11 a.m. until 9 p.m. The bar is open until 11 p.m. Monday through Thursday and until 1 a.m. Friday and Saturday.

Double R will introduce POUR to other Southern Lifestyle-developed communities starting with Sugar Mill Pond in the third quarter of this year; POUR will then expand to Century Village, Conway and The Village at Shoe Creek in the fourth quarter of next year.

Double R, headed by longtime business partners Rodney Savoy of Lafayette and Robert Gagnard of Las Vegas, has 1,200 employees and says it is seeking 30-40 experienced workers for each new location in the state. For more info on employment opportunities, click here.