Southern Spice eager to rebuild and serve Lake Area

LAKE CHARLES, La. (KPLC) - A local restaurant owner is dealing with the aftermath of Hurricane Laura at both his Lake Charles and Moss Bluff locations, but now, he’s working to get both back open for business again.

Myron Leleux was eager to return to his Ryan Street location after the hurricane, but he wasn’t prepared for what he came back to.

“Wow, it was pretty bad. We didn’t have any idea the wind damage was as bad as it was,” Leleux said. “It tore up our building pretty good.”

The eight foot brick wall, on top of the restaurant, that read “Southern Spice Restaurant and Grill” is now lying in a pile of rubble, just inches from the front door.

“The roof was peeled off from the restaurant, about 75 percent, and we had quite a bit of water that came inside.,” Leleux said. “Probably two inches of water on the floor through the whole restaurant.”

Now, all focus is on getting back up and running as soon as possible.

Leleux says Lake Charles has been home to his business since 1997, and he and his family plan to be here for many more years.

“We feel like it’s our responsibility, to the community, to reopen and to get back to where we were before, and maybe even better this time,” he said.

Leleux says he believes residents in Southwest Louisiana will do the same.

“The slogan has been ‘Lake Charles Strong.' We agree with that,” he said. “Be patient, be safe out there and we’ll be back as quick as we can.”

Leleux says he’s expecting it will take around two to three weeks before they begin serving food again, and four to five weeks before Southern Spice will be reopened for dine-in.

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