VooDoo BBQ Hopes To Morph Into A National Brand

NOLA.com:

College roommates Tony Avila and Dino Arvanetes talked about building a business together almost from the time they met as freshmen at Louisiana State University. But each went his own way after graduation. Avila, who was raised on the West Bank and graduated from Eleanor McMain Secondary School, stayed in Louisiana to begin a career as a certified public accountant. Arvanetes, meanwhile, returned home to Orlando, Fla., to put his business degree to work at Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse.

Five years later, they returned to the plan from college.

Avila, who had gained experience working with restaurant owners for a few years while at accounting firm KMPG, figured he had a good handle on the back-office operations of a restaurant. Meanwhile, Arvanetes had built firsthand knowledge of the front-of-house restaurant business.

“We just felt like we had the framework for a pretty good team,” Avila said.

It was from that pairing that VooDoo BBQ & Grill was born in 2002.

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