Already a popular spot to eat in New Orleans, Twisted Waffles is headed to Luling to offer its unique “twist” on breakfast and lunch items for locals.
The restaurant is set up and nearly ready to open, said owner Orlando Matthews, with just one more item left on the checklist to go. Matthews said the initial opening was set for May 10 but it’s been pushed back a bit from there, but that once final approval is made, the grand opening will happen soon after.
“We’re just waiting for final approval from the fire marshal,” said Matthews. “Once that happens, we’re ready to open from there. We have everything on the inside ready.”
Matthews and wife Jennifer live in Luling. The couple own and operate both locations and the restaurant could be on the verge of franchising.
But for this location in Luling, the plan was simply to bring the business home.
Matthews said that the same menu will be brought over from New Orleans, but that locals can expect more added to it.
“As far as waffles, waffle bowls and all the different flavors we have, we’ll carry that over,” Matthews said. “We’re going to be introducing some multi-flavors – if you get a strawberry shortcake waffle, you can get a strawberry shortcake French toast. We’re working on a new type of grits with crawfish for our menu. And we’ll have some weekly specials with different dishes – red beans, white beans, steak or porkchops, those kinds of things Monday through Friday.”
Matthews said he’s applying for a liquor license for the restaurant as well.
“People can expect a whole lot of things in Luling that we don’t do here (in New Orleans),” Matthews said. “We’re going to gear this for what St. Charles Parish needs and expects from their meals and outings.”
Twisted Waffles in New Orleans has grown its popularity over its years in business – and one part of that is its presence on social media. Visitors to the restaurant often post photos to Instagram and Facebook from their visits and of their meals, including some celebrity visitors. NFL Hall of Famer and current ESPN personality Shannon Sharpe posted about his visit to the restaurant last year and garnered attention. Twisted Waffles’ Instagram page has more than 13,000 followers.
“People started taking those pictures and posting them to Instagram and things really took off from there,” Matthews said. “It started going crazy on social media.”
The menu’s ace is its signature twisted chicken and waffles meal – a crispy chicken breast between Belgian waffles with maple syrup on the side. But beyond its most popular item, Twisted Waffles also offers a variety of sandwiches, burgers, specialty waffles, coffee and espresso.
Its waffle bowls come filled with scrambled eggs, onions, bell peppers, choice of bacon, sausage, ham, or turkey topped with a shredded cheese blend; shrimp, crab meat, sausage patties and several other items can be added to that dish.
You can even turn your waffles into a sandwich, or “wafflewich” – a Belgian waffle sandwich with choice of bacon, sausage, ham, or turkey and egg.
“When we first started, we wanted our dishes to be different from any other restaurant, which they are,” Matthews said. “We see some others doing them now, and that’s fine, but we wanted to make sure we made something different and new when we started this.
“We’re really looking forward to (opening) and really looking forward to doing some good things in Luling.”
Twisted Waffles is located at 12371 Hwy. 90 Suite A in Luling.
