Fast Food Chains Not in Acadiana Yet — and the One That Named Lafayette Out Loud
LAFAYETTE, La. — The past year has brought more new national chains to Acadiana than the previous several combined. Dutch Bros opened on Johnston Street on New Year’s Eve. Dave and Buster’s and TopGolf arrived earlier. The Buc-ee’s on I-10 is no longer news. The region is on the radar in ways it wasn’t a decade ago.
But the wish list hasn’t emptied. A handful of brands that are well established in other parts of the country, and in some cases already operating elsewhere in Louisiana, still haven’t made the move to Acadiana. Here’s where each one actually stands.
Dave’s Hot Chicken: Baton Rouge Has It. Lafayette Is Named.
Of the chains on this list, Dave’s Hot Chicken is the one most likely to arrive in Acadiana first, and it’s the only one whose operator has said so on the record.
Dave’s opened its first Louisiana location in Baton Rouge in June 2025 at Arlington Creek Centre, bringing Nashville-style hot chicken tenders and sliders in seven spice levels to the Capital City. At the opening, regional manager Jorge Frausto told The Advocate the brand is hoping to eventually have several Louisiana locations, naming Lafayette and New Orleans specifically.
A second Louisiana location is already in progress. Dave’s is taking over a former Moe’s Southwest Grill space at Juban Crossing in Denham Springs, with a spring 2026 opening targeted. The franchisee operating these Louisiana stores, Cluckin Inc., is Dave’s biggest franchise operator nationally.
The chain’s national trajectory backs that confidence. Dave’s Hot Chicken was acquired by Roark Capital, the private equity firm behind Arby’s, Buffalo Wild Wings, and Sonic, in a deal valued at $1 billion in June 2025. As of spring 2026, the brand operates roughly 400 locations globally and has been opening 135 to 150 new U.S. stores annually. Lafayette’s profile, population density, and university market fit the template the brand has used in comparable-sized cities.
No Lafayette opening has been announced. But it’s on the list, it’s named, and the franchisee is active in Louisiana. That’s a different situation than anything else on this page.
Shake Shack: 50 Miles Away, No Timeline
Shake Shack is in Louisiana. It has a location in the New Orleans CBD at Canal Place, one in Baton Rouge on Bluebonnet, and another in Kenner near Louis Armstrong International Airport. The Baton Rouge location is about 50 miles east of Lafayette on I-10.
None of that has translated to any movement toward Acadiana. There are no announced plans for a Lafayette or Acadiana location.
For Shreveport, the gap is wider. The closest Shake Shack to northwest Louisiana remains in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.
Shake Shack is planning its most aggressive expansion in company history in 2026, with 55 to 60 new company-operated locations targeted, focused on suburban markets and drive-thru formats. Lafayette fits that profile on paper. But nothing is announced, and the chain hasn’t publicly signaled interest in Acadiana.
In-N-Out Burger: Moving East, Not There Yet
In-N-Out has opened its first Tennessee locations in 2026, and that’s meaningful for Louisiana. Just not immediately.
The chain supplies all restaurants from a patty-making facility in Lancaster, Texas, and the company has said it will only consider new locations within 300 miles of a facility of that kind. To anchor the Tennessee push, In-N-Out has also opened a corporate regional office in Franklin, Tennessee.
Locations in Lebanon, Antioch, Murfreesboro, and Franklin have already opened in 2026, with Madison next in line. CEO Lynsi Snyder has said that further southern expansion is likely and that the Texas distribution hub can reach states along the route between Texas and Tennessee.
The obstacle for Louisiana is distance. Lafayette sits roughly 320 miles from Dallas and about 525 miles from Nashville. The Lancaster, Texas facility is the relevant hub, and while that radius technically grazes the northwestern corner of Louisiana, it doesn’t reach the Acadiana market or Baton Rouge. Until In-N-Out builds a second distribution hub closer to the Gulf states, or extends its supply radius, no Louisiana location is possible under the company’s own stated rules.
Snyder has indicated 35 Tennessee locations are the first wave. Once those are operating and the Nashville office is fully built out, the geographic case for Louisiana improves. Realistically, that’s a post-2027 conversation.
Culver’s: Expanding Fast, Heading the Wrong Direction
Culver’s is one of the fastest-growing chains in the country right now and has no Louisiana presence. The Wisconsin-based brand known for ButterBurgers and fresh frozen custard operates in 26 states as of mid-2026 and is opening between 50 and 60 new locations annually.
The problem for Acadiana is the direction of that growth. For 2026, the chain’s franchise disclosure document lists planned openings in Ohio, Alabama, Indiana, North Carolina, Michigan, Iowa, Arizona, Georgia, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Tennessee, Arkansas, Illinois, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, and Utah, with Florida as the biggest growth market. Louisiana is not on that list.
Culver’s southern expansion has tracked the Atlantic coast rather than the Gulf states. Alabama is getting four new locations in 2026. Mississippi has none. Louisiana, which Culver’s itself lists as an available franchise market, has none.
That available franchise listing is a signal the company sees Louisiana as viable territory. But available and imminent are different things. Until Culver’s works through Mississippi, Acadiana is further back in the queue than the growth numbers might suggest.
Portillo’s: Not Anytime Soon
Portillo’s has the most devoted out-of-state following of any chain on this list among people who’ve eaten at one. Chicago-style Italian beef sandwiches, char-grilled hot dogs, and chocolate cake shakes built a national cult before the brand ever left Illinois. It has also had the roughest expansion of any chain here.
Portillo’s is in financial reset mode. The chain built 16 Texas locations across Dallas and Houston over the past few years, moved too fast, and those stores have underperformed badly. Five Houston locations together generate the revenue Portillo’s would expect from two units. Brand awareness in Houston sits around 20 percent, compared to roughly 80 percent in Chicagoland.
The company finished 2025 with 102 locations and has capped 2026 openings at eight, limited to already-signed leases. The focus is getting Texas right and reaching positive free cash flow before adding new markets. Florida remains a priority expansion state. Louisiana isn’t in the announced pipeline, and based on the financial reset timeline, that’s unlikely to change before 2027 at the earliest.
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Gallery Credit: Joe Cunningham
