OUR STORY
In 1945, Phil Tuminello and his family opened a seafood market on Government Street, which was then expanded into a full-service restaurant five years later. Upon his retirement in 1971, Phil sold his restaurant to local entrepreneurs, who hired Gus Piazza as the manager.
Always dreaming of owning the restaurant himself, Gus raised enough money to buy it in 1975, upon which he brought in his family to help establish the Baton Rouge landmark.
In 2007, Gus’s declining health forced him to close his restaurant – exactly 32 years to-the-date that he purchased it, and he succumbed to his illnesses later that year. But after Gus’s passing, Anthony and Jordan Piazza, his children, had a deep desire to restore their father’s beloved restaurant to be the staple it was in his lifetime. In 2016, their dream became a reality, and Phil’s Oyster Bar & Seafood opened its doors once more.
Drawn to the family-operated restaurant dynamic, nostalgic of his own childhood, Chef Peter Sclafani joined the team in 2019 and Jordan Piazza exited to pursue other interests. To Peter, it felt just like coming home. Our goal is to make that the feeling each person who steps into our door experiences. We aim to celebrate all of the memories that were made at the original Phil’s while continuing the legacy of serving Baton Rouge great seafood in an authentic, unique environment.
