Acadiana Business

One, possibly two more 2Paul's?

by Patrick Flanagan

The Lafayette-based restaurant is eyeing two new locations.

Lafayette's 2Paul's Radically Urban BBQ plans to expand - and possibly franchise.

Gary "Paul" Roy, who opened the Johnston Street location four years ago with his wife, Marilyn "Paule" Roy, says he's hoping to secure a location in Broussard before year's end, and be up and running by the end of the first quarter next year. That, he says, ultimately will depend on whether the restaurant builds a new location from scratch or retrofits an existing space.

"There's a real opportunity with all the businesses locating along the highway in Broussard," Roy tells ABiz. "It will be a good fit for us."

Roy is also in talks with an undisclosed party to open a franchised version of the restaurant in Baton Rouge.

Roy says he always wanted to own a restaurant, noting his passion for cooking. The door opened for him not long after he retired.

"I had just retired but got bored," he says. "So I did an old grad school type business plan and just picked barbecue because it was something I'd just cooked that weekend. I did all the footwork, and found out it was a real good possibility. So here we are. It's been a lot of fun, and now we're anxious to see if we can take it to the point of franchising it out."