Alexandra Kennon
From the starting line at Mid City Baton Rouge’s newest eatery, Spoke ‘N’ Hub, bicyclists will set forth: winding their way through Capital Heights all the way Downtown, or venturing to Independence Community Park and beyond. They might head north, past Superior and Baton Rouge Community College all the way to Howell Community Park—further, if they wish. And then they can come back, by one of a dozen routes, landing on the finishing line at the other side of the parking lot—where a delicious, locally-made meal and a cocktail, if they so choose, awaits as their reward.
Complimenting Government Street’s recently-completed 11.7 million dollar Road Diet Project—which brought the concept of “complete streets,” featuring pedestrian-friendly sidewalks and bike lanes, to Mid City—City Group Hospitality’s new venture situates itself as the launch pad, rest break, and celebratory landing spot for Baton Rouge bicyclists (and their friends).
“From this location, we have bike lanes heading from all directions and leading back to the hub,” said Jeff Conaway, Director of Culinary Operations for City Group. “We want it to kind of be this place that you can start here, go on a long ride, then come back and grab a burger.”
The concept will be Conaway’s first major creative contribution to City Group, which he officially joined in the summer of 2020 with the sale of his restaurant Beausoleil to the restaurant group. When Spoke ‘N’ Hub’s location, previously home to Bistro Byronz (which recently moved into the former White Star Market complex), went up for sale, the City Group team started tossing around ideas for the iconic Government Street building. “I’ve ridden bikes for years, and used to talk with one of my old partners about having a place where you could work on your bike, get a cup of coffee, something to eat,” said Conaway. “When they asked if we had any ideas, I said I had one, but didn’t think it would be something they’d want to pursue … and they just rolled right with it.”
“From this location, we have bike lanes heading from all directions and leading back to the hub,” said Jeff Conaway, Director of Culinary Operations for City Group. “We want it to kind of be this place that you can start here, go on a long ride, then come back and grab a burger.”
A play on words drawing on bicycular anatomy, the restaurant’s name also speaks to its potential status as a hub for Baton Rouge’s vibrant bicycling community, which has gained significant momentum in recent years. Accelerated by the advocacy of the nonprofit organization Bike Baton Rouge, concentrated efforts to make Baton Rouge a more bike-friendly city have followed suit. In addition to Government Street’s new “complete streets,” over the past two years Baton Rouge has also seen continued progress along the Baton Rouge Greenway bike path—which currently takes riders from North Boulevard to Expressway Park, and someday will go all the way to Memorial Stadium—as well as an eight-mile extension of the Mississippi River Levee Bike Path. This is all in addition to the Recreation and Park Commission for the Parish of East Baton Rouge (BREC)’s ongoing work bringing more off-road bike paths to its properties, and the continued progress of the Baton Rouge Area Foundation’s Master Plan for improving the LSU and City Park Lakes—which promises dedicated pedestrian and bicycle routes that connect to others in the city. And in June 2020, the East Baton Rouge Parish Metro Council unanimously voted to approve and adopt a Pedestrian and Bicycle Master Plan, which calls for the creation of over one hundred miles of on-road bike paths and two hundred fifty of off-road paths and trails.
Such developments have drawn national businesses like the Gotcha bikeshare program—which provides electric bikes for rent throughout the city—and Pedego Electric Bikes, a shop that opened just a few doors down from the future Spoke ‘N’ Hub in May 2021. The long-beloved locally-owned bike shop and youth development nonprofit Front Yard Bikes is another neighbor, having moved to Government Street in 2020 when it outgrew its previous home.
[Read about the recently-added mountain biking trails in Bogue Chitto State Park here.]
“The timing is perfect for this,” emphasized Conaway. Designed as a central gathering space for the folks behind this movement to come together when they hit the brakes, Spoke ‘N’ Hub’s location at the heart of the city—and at the intersection of several of the neighborhood’s bike lanes—is fatefully perfect, too.
In early December, construction was still largely underway, though Conaway enthusiastically filled in the empty, wood dust-coated spaces with descriptions of his vision. The doors still emblazoned with their previous tenant’s name, the restaurant announced its next era proudly with a bicycle welded to the top of the entryway arch. Guests will walk beneath it to enter, passing through the massive patio seating area. Walking through the door, guests will be greeted by a wall-sized map, etched on aluminum, laying out all of the existing bike routes in Baton Rouge. This is also where Spoke ‘N’ Hub’s micro retail space will live, featuring “bicycle trinkets,” including tools and merch.
“The timing is perfect for this,” emphasized Conaway.
Looking out across the dining room, a black line on the floor leads to the main bar, reminding riders of the roads they’ve recently traveled, and guiding them towards much-anticipated reprieve, for which City Group’s talented mixologists are currently developing an exciting menu. Back up, though, because you don’t want to miss the other bar: the ice cream bar. Situated closer to the entrance, this fifties-diner-esque feature embraces the kid factor of Mid City’s neighborhoods, offering soft serve in cones and floats (beer floats for the parents, too—as well as a daiquiri called the “Derailleur,” named for the bicycle part employed when switching gears).
As for the menu: Conaway is keeping it basic and tavern-esque. “Burgers, hot dogs, chicken-fried steak, great salads, appetizers—delicious classics done well,” he said.
Seating will be retro but tasteful, dining booths settled around tables made from old bowling alley floors—the funk factor tapered and brightened by the building’s gorgeous, rustic wooden ceiling and the swathes of natural light pouring in from the front windows. By shifting the main entrance to the side of the restaurant, Conaway has transformed the building’s façade into a private dining room and patio, with big-windowed doors that can be opened on Baton Rouge’s rare, glorious, perfect-weather days. Regular diners can also enjoy those sorts of days on the back patio, which will have “more of a back yard feel,” with lounge furniture and couches, according to Conaway.
And then there’s the speakeasy. Yep—the Brakes Bar’s more intimate space is situated just behind the restaurant with its very own “old school classics” cocktail menu—featuring what Conaway promises with good humor to be “the best Jack and Coke in town.” Named for the hilarious mayhem caused by braking mid-crash, the wall will be adorned by images of people flipping over their handlebars. “This is just going to be a place to chill out and have a couple of drinks,” said Conaway. “A spin off of the larger restaurant.”
With a quickly-approaching anticipated opening date for January 2022, Conaway tied his hopes for Spoke ‘N’ Hub back to his initial goals for Baton Rouge back when he opened Beausoleil in 2010. “I wanted to see Baton Rouge’s way of approaching restaurants change … and I think we kicked off a pretty good start to how people look at food in this city. That’s where this is headed, with the same idea. Hopefully we can change Baton Rouge to be of this mindset, too, that this biking community is something to support and celebrate—just continuing to change how the city uses restaurants, integrating all aspects of how the city is being used. Fostering community, that’s the word.”
