Serena Puang

1 week ago | theadvocate.com | Serena Puang

What do Curbside, House Brew and Offset Smoker Barbecue all have in common? They’re local Baton Rouge businesses that all started as pop-ups. Across the city, many local staples get their start that way because the business model allows for people to test the waters for an idea before committing to a lease or investing in the heavy machinery associated with a commercial kitchen.

1 week ago | theadvocate.com | Serena Puang

For Salt Pepper Oak owner Vincent Hunt, becoming a TikTok-er wasn’t the plan or even an aspiration, but after going live in his Mississippi restaurant late one night while trimming brisket, he saw the results. People started tuning in, and as he livestreamed more, customers would come in from out of state because of what they’d seen online. “I was hooked after that,” he said. Now, he’s amassed nearly 125,000 followers on the platform and grown his business.

1 week ago | theadvocate.com | Serena Puang

Around this time last year, 9-year-old Kelvin Ellis Jr. received $20 for his good grades. He had spent $19 and was waiting for his dad, Kelvin Ellis Sr., who was at the optometrist. Young Kelvin walked to a CC’s Coffee House next door, where he spotted a man. “Excuse me sir, are you homeless?” he said to the man. “'Cuz if you are, here’s a dollar.” The man, as it turns out, was not homeless. But touched by this act of generosity, he offered to buy Kelvin Jr. breakfast.

1 week ago | theadvocate.com | Serena Puang

What would get you up before 9 a.m. on Saturday? For Ariana Romero-Merideth, 17, it’s the Hello Kitty Cafe Truck experience. She got up to travel from Chalmette to arrive just after the truck opened at 10 a.m. at the Mall of Louisiana. The experience is a traveling food truck/merch store that got its start in 2014. Currently, three Hello Kitty trucks tour the U.S., dividing stops into three branches: East, West and Central.

2 weeks ago | theadvocate.com | Serena Puang

At Simple Joe Cafe on Government Street, owner Sean Braswell has added a 75-cent charge per egg with the plan to take the charge off when egg prices drop back to normal levels. He pays about 92 cents an egg. He goes through about 3,000 eggs per week. “ It's just astronomical,” Braswell said of egg prices. “I realized that I could not possibly raise my prices high enough.” Egg prices in February were 58.8% higher than they were the same time last year due to bird flu.