Baton Rouge entrepreneur and media personality Diane Andrews has a lot of irons in the fire, and she’s about to place one more into the forge when she opens a drive-thru coffee shop in an old bank building at 3875 Florida Blvd. in Baton Rouge this spring.
Andrews recently told What Now New Orleans that she’s owned the former bank building for over two decades. The new drive-thru coffee shop will be called Boulevard Brew and it will use the old bank’s drive-thru lane to serve coffee, pastries, and sandwiches. A long overhang coming off the back of the main building will serve as a small seating area. Andrews said she also plans to open a small dog park on the property so people can bring their pets while they enjoy some coffee and a few bites.
“You know, a CC’s Coffee House or Starbucks cost about $1 million,” she explained. “So I said, well, I’ve already got a drive-thru lane, this, that, and the other. Boulevard Brew is costing me over $200,000 because we have to do a lot of plumbing and different things to get it going, but anyway, that’s just what a business costs now.”
Currently, the old bank building primarily serves as a retail outlet for Fuji’s Totes, Andrews’ pet pillow company. She is one of the few patent holders for a pet pillow in the country and she says she’s the only Black holder. She emphasized that All Fuji’s Totes products are made in the United States.
