The founders of a food truck that made its name on fantastic fried chicken sandwiches and has developed a robustly delicious menu from there will soon have their own restaurant in Metairie.
Southerns plans to open its first permanent location at 4620 Veterans Blvd., not far from Clearview Parkway. It was formerly home to Gogi, a Korean restaurant that relocated last year to a new address in Kenner at 2401 Veterans Blvd.
Southerns, a food truck started by Anthony Cruz and Gene Colley, is known for its hot fried chicken sandwiches. (Staff photo by Ian McNulty, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune)
This new Southerns restaurant is on track to open by late August.
“It will be fast-casual, counter service, but with quality food,” said Southerns co-founder Anthony Cruz.
On the menu
The menu will lead with fried chicken sandwiches and other dishes that have become Southerns’ signatures, including burgers, wings and cracklin’.
Southerns Food truck won big at the Oak Street Po-Boy Festival in 2023. Anthony Cruz and Gene Colley show the haul of awards. (Staff photo by Ian McNulty, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune)
Cruz and Southerns co-founder Gene Colley started cooking together a few years back at events and festivals with the brand Gulf Tacos. That evolved into Southerns, which now operates three food trucks with regular appearances at breweries and other venues and catering gigs throughout the week.
Catering and food truck pop-ups will continue after the restaurant opens.
The Viet-Pinoy-Cajun crawfish from Southerns food truck adds Filipino flavors and a dose of garlic butter to a Louisiana staple. (Staff photo by Ian McNulty, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune)
As the business has grown, so has the menu. Cruz added elements from his own Filipino heritage. One version of the trucks cracklin’ is made with adobo, for instance, and Cruz and Colley developed a highly distinctive take on crawfish blends Louisiana and Filipino heritage with a dash of Vietnamese influence, too.
All of that will be at the new restaurant and Cruz foresees ways to expand the menu further, including a weekly barbecue day.
Food trucks to restaurant
Gene Colley (left) and Anthony Cruz prepare crawfish for their Southerns food truck outside Second Line Brewing In New Orleans. Their Viet-Pinoy-Cajun style crawfish adds Filipino flavors and a dose of garlic butter to a Louisiana staple. (Staff photo by Ian McNulty, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune)
While the current focus is on the Veterans location, Cruz said he and Colley are looking down range at the possibility of more restaurants under the Southerns brand. As their business has grown, they’ve drawn more talent, and Cruz said they are eager to open more opportunities for their team to keep them on board.
“No matter how good the idea, no matter how good the product, without the team it’s meaningless,” Cruz said. “Our goal is to open multiple locations and make the right moves so the people we have now can grow with us.”
Southerns has also proven a formidable contender on the New Orleans food festival scene. At the Oak Street Po-boy Festival last fall, they cleaned up with four awards, including "best of the fest," best shrimp, best pork and best specialty po-boy.
Filipino adobo crusts the cracklin' from Southerns food truck, which is combining cultural influences in Louisiana staples. (Staff photo by Ian McNulty, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune)
This is the latest food truck to announce restaurant plans recently. La Cocinita will serve its Latin American street food from a new restaurant Uptown at 4920 Prytania St. (a former Parran's Po-boys location), with an opening slated for the summer.
And Bonafried, another truck specializing in fried chicken sandwiches, is opening a location in New Orleans at 3101 Grand Route St. John, right along Esplanade Avenue. This project will transform a former laundry and has an anticipated opening date next spring.
Southerns food truck serves at a variety of locations; see updates on Instagram @southernsfood.
