An Olympic future? A few locals are worth watching
August 1, 2012Title bout headlines wrestling event
August 7, 2012
Just more than a year ago, a long-vacant Thibodaux building on La. Highway 1 reopened as the food serving, event hosting and dual-nightclubbing Foundry on the Bayou.
Only the brick structure from the original building, constructed in the mid-19th century as a foundry, or steel manufacturing facility, was kept in tact. The aged shell is safeguarded with steel beams placed throughout the establishment. The interior was molded into modernity when a group of investors renovated the building for its new purpose one year ago.
That purpose is ambitious. The two-story building includes a sports bar, music hall, restaurant and events room, an assortment of perks designed to attract business that is spontaneous and planned, low-key and celebratory.
On the second floor is the sports bar, a small room structured around a square island bar. Dozens of small overhead lights eschew the dimness of typical taprooms and combined with the room’s size, craft an intimate setting.
Plastic cups containing draft beer and cocktails line the wood-topped bar, and New Orleans Saints and LSU Tiger sports memorabilia hang from the walls. Every stool has a sightline to one of seven big-screen televisions, including the four squared outward above the bar like the overhang at a basketball arena.
Large retractable windows offer a glimpse onto an elevated deck outside. In addition to fresh air, the enormous patio, which overlooks Bayou Lafourche and downtown Thibodaux, offers smokers a respite from an interior ban. Several wired table and chair sets and wooden picnic tables are set up here, and an overhang protects those who wish to step outside – and speakers funneling the televisions’ sound – during a rainstorm.
“In Thibodaux, I feel the demographic of mid-20s gets missed a lot,” says 26-year-old John, a Thibodaux native who does not want his last name published. “Here, (The Foundry) is trending toward that demographic. It’s a touch of class while also being casual.”
Caryn Guidry, a 23-year-old LSU grad celebrating E.D. White’s five-year class reunion in the music hall, agrees.
“It’s really good and something Thibodaux needs for the young professionals,” Guidry says.
The music hall is vast. The brick shell on the bottom floor is uncovered, and it walls in a long, straight, well-lit room conducive to dancing. The stage and bar bookend the floor, which is outlined with tables and stools for those who wish to rest their feet. As a cover band plays popular music, patrons dance and sing along.
The room makes for a festive and large party at night, but during football season, it is turned into a sports theater. Lance Blakeman, one of the owners, says The Foundry rolls out “the biggest projection screen in south Louisiana” for sports games.
The brick styling adds to the allure, concrete evidence of passed time that is blended with present-day amenities. Coupled with the variety of activities offered, the facility is in a class of its own.
“The building makes us different,” says General Manager Trudy Clement, speaking to its size and history. “It’s three different entities in one.”
Patrons of Foundry on the Bayou’s sports bar hover around the squared-off bar top. The room, which leads to an expansive patio overlooking Bayou Lafourche and downtown Thibodaux, includes seven big-screen televisions.
