From the street, Nino’s appears to be an unassuming restaurant, but it has long been a steady presence in Baton Rouge dining for over 20 years. This year, the Italian restaurant took on new life under the ownership of Shannon and Jason Lopez, whose combined experience, attention to hospitality and respect for what came before earned Nino’s the newspaper’s Restaurant of the Year.
The couple bought the restaurant in July 2024 after a date night at the Bluebonnet Boulevard restaurant in 2022. They were both at a point in their careers where they wanted to work for themselves. When they came across a “convoluted” listing for a restaurant for sale, they suspected it was Nino’s.
The couple scrapped plans to build something new and chose to invest in a place that already mattered to its customers.
“We never imagined the reception that we would truly receive,” Shannon Lopez said. “We have held on to most of the Nino’s old regulars, and the coolest compliment from them is how relieved they are that it went to people who would love it and improve it. Because there are people in Baton Rouge who have more than 20 years of memories wrapped in this place.”…