One of Shreveport’s most beloved and oldest local restaurants, The Cotton Boll, has shut its doors, and this time it could be for good. The restaurant had been shut down and reopened once before, and recently got some major attention, but none of it was enough to keep things going. If the now former staff are to be believed, not much could’ve been done to stop their walkout.
Staff Walkout Forces Closure
The closure of The Cotton Boll wasn’t something the owners were planning for months in advance. In fact, the owners had very little say in keeping the business open after the entire staff, management included, walked out the door. One member of the staff exodus explained in a Facebook post that the entire staff was fed up with “a severe level of neglect from [the owner].”
The owner of the restaurant has not publicly commented on the situation, but without a staff, the eatery is closed for the foreseeable future. Included in the walkout was the Head Chef Jill Justus, who is credited as being near the core of the restaurant’s recent success. If the owner ever decides to hire new staff for a grand reopening, a new chef would more or less mean a whole new Cotton Boll.
From Revival to Closure: The End of an Era
The Cotton Boll, if it ever comes back, will never be the same. Those same Facebook posts from former staff laud Chef Justus for her work in helping revive the grill just months before it would’ve been closed for good. Back in the Spring of 2024, the Cotton Boll was close to shutting down for good when a new owner swept in to take over, along with a new chef in the kitchen.
SHREVEPORT PROUD…