By Emma Stone
The newest expansion for the Heard Freighthouse Food Park is now complete.
Located at 93 E Railroad Ave, the Heard Freighthouse Food Park has been a staple of Ruston since January 2018 when owners Desi and Dianne Bourgeois bought the lot.
With lots of work, the Bourgeois’ created a three-phase plan to revamp the space into a more accessible and expansive area.
Phase 1 consisted of restoring the exterior, adding a sidewalk and stage, as well as two new food truck spaces.
Desi Bourgeois said there is a need for such a unique space and the opportunity for downtown Ruston to grow.
“Ruston is not the same city I lived at in 1990 for nearly 12 years,” said Bourgeois. “I wanted to find a spot to bring the community together.”
The first part of Phase 1 was to pave the ground with blue granite stone, so that it was no longer gravel. Along with that, a sidewalk was added.
“In the previous condition of the space, you had to stumble down a grass hill right off the edge,” said Bourgeois. “We wanted to make the food park more accessible to citizens.”
Four food trucks are located on the north side of the food park with three on the south side. An access ramping system was installed along with a few new staircases.
Since the food park is locally run, the Bourgeois’ have relied strongly on their community and own labor to create the space.
“I welded all the canopies and tied the canvases on. We’ve built 15 new tables, and still have more to go,” said Bourgeois.
Jade Sumrall, city of Ruston economic developer, spoke about the expansion of the food park.
“Quality of life is so important in a community and unique destinations like the food park are what really make a community stand out,” said Sumrall.
Restoring the exterior came with lots of manual labor in attempt to make the space more inviting.
Amy Stegall, Main Street director and community coordinator, commented on the importance of expanding this local area.
“With additional food trucks, it’s just a great way to draw people to our downtown area and see other people outside enjoying good food and great weather,” said Stegall. “It’s a magnet for people to come to Ruston.”
Currently, the Bourgeois’ are working on Phase 2 in which they will re-use the Heard warehouse located next to the food park to create a small bar with restrooms.
“That building was built in 1935 by Raymond Hurd as a grocery storage warehouse and our goal is to put food back into that grocery storage warehouse,” said Bourgeois.
Phase 3, lastly, projected to complete a couple of years from now, will involve a full-service restaurant inside the Heard warehouse.
“We’ve created a space where people are willing to accept the fact that we are an outdoor dining establishment who produces high-quality food, and it’s worth maybe some very minor discomforts to come out and enjoy,” said Bourgeois.
