50-Year-Old Lafayette Restaurant Coming to Upper Lafayette

A 50-year veteran of the Lafayette restaurant landscape will be opening a second location in Upper Lafayette and making a slight adjustment to its name.

According to Developing Lafayette, the Original Ground Pat'i on Johnston Street, now called "Original Patti", was recently purchased by the owners of Pizzaville, USA. Their intention in purchasing the iconic Lafayette restaurant is to preserve what has become a staple establishment for so many in the area. Now, they have announced a second location, coming soon.

Ground Pat'i (now "Original Patti") opened its doors in 1971, some 50 years ago. Can you imagine how much that restaurant has seen in that time? Being that close to campus, it has provided jobs that helped college students earn their degrees. It has seen hundreds of parades roll by. It has served as a meeting place for friends before the game, a destination for family night, club meetings, business meetings, first dates, anniversary dates, and - don't ask me how I know this - late-night parking lot shenanigans (it used to be pretty dark back there in the 1970s, I've been told).

I must say that the Original Ground Pat'i is one-of-a-kind when it comes to the presentation of its burgers. Sure, you can get an open-faced burger in a lot of restaurants around Lafayette. You can get a char-broiled burger in a lot of restaurants around Lafayette. You can get a generous portion of fries with your burger in a lot of restaurants around Lafayette. But can you get all of that on a metal plate? With a heaping pile of grated cheese? I think not!

The new location will not have the history of the original location, but it will have added features like a full bar and outdoor seating, as it will be finding its home in the old Romacelli location at Couret Farms.

According to the post from Developing Lafayette, the Couret Farms location of "Original Patti" is hoping to be open in early 2022.

I am looking forward to seeing the new owner's vision for the second location come to reality. For me, it'll be a Pat'i Sr and a beer, please.