The former gas station at 4041 Fern Ave., first built in 1955, hasn’t changed at its core. The bones are the same. The layout is familiar. But step inside Marilynn’s Place today, and the difference is immediate.
“I just don’t think you can walk in this place and not go, holy crap, they really cleaned it up,” said Bob Thames, one of five investors in the restaurant who serves as managing partner.
What was once worn now feels intentional. What was once aging now feels revived. And yet, somehow, it still feels like Marilynn’s.
That balance didn’t happen by accident.
Long before the papers were signed, before the renovations began, and before reopening became real, this was a conversation that stretched across years.
“I would always jokingly say, hey, you know, let me buy the restaurant from you,” Thames said. “When are you going to sell it?”
That conversation with former owner Boz Baucum repeated itself for nearly seven years. Then, in July 2025, the call finally came.
“He laid out some terms, and I thought that his asking price was very fair,” Thames said. “I remember hanging up the phone, and my wife was like, what was that call about? And I said, we’re buying Marilynn’s Place.”
The purchase brought together a group of five local investors from Highland, South Highland and Broadmoor, all with ties to the restaurant and experience in business and hospitality. Thames, co-founder of Single Source Business Solutions, stepped in as managing partner.
But from the beginning, the goal wasn’t to reinvent what Marilynn’s had been. It was to protect it.
For more than 15 years, Marilynn’s Place built something that can’t be manufactured overnight.
“You just can’t recreate what Marilynn’s has had over the last 14 years,” Thames said. “The amount of memories … you don’t just turn a light switch on and that happens.”
That realization shaped every decision.
Years earlier, Thames admits he would have taken the concept in a completely different direction. But walking into the restaurant again, watching the crowd and listening to out-of-town visitors talk about what the place meant to them shifted that perspective.
“All these people were coming into this restaurant, and they already understand what Marilynn’s is,” he said. “They understand the vibes and they understand the food.”
So Thames maintained the name, spirit and identity of Marilynn’s Place.
The plan, at first, felt manageable. Planned renovations included floors, paint, furniture and a quick refresh. But it didn’t stay that way for long.
Adding a bar changed everything, triggering permits, inspections and a level of renovation the team hadn’t anticipated. Suddenly, Thames found himself stepping into a role he hadn’t planned for.
“I kind of became a general contractor overnight,” he said.
What followed were delays, missed timelines and unexpected obstacles, from permitting issues to weather disruptions.
“We thought we’d be reopened in two months. It took us five,” he said.
But in hindsight, that process became part of the story.
“If it wouldn’t have been as hard, it wouldn’t have been as fun,” Thames said. “Everything that made it difficult made it worth it.”
The most noticeable change starts at the bar.
“I think that going from not having a seated bar to having 15, 16 seats at the bar is a huge game changer,” Thames said.
But the upgrades didn’t stop there. The furniture, once a patchwork of donated pieces, has been completely replaced. The kitchen has been upgraded for consistency and efficiency. Even the restrooms, often overlooked, became a priority.
“I’m a very big believer that a nice, clean restroom goes a long way.”
And then there are the details guests may not immediately notice, but will feel: improved flow, cleaner finishes and a more cohesive experience.
“It’s still an old gas station. It’s just much nicer than it ever had been,” Thames said.
The menu remains rooted in what made Marilynn’s a favorite: po’boys, fried seafood and Cajun staples. But there’s a sharper focus on quality.
“We’re going to have Gulf shrimp, we’re going to have Mississippi catfish, New Orleans French bread, Blue Plate mayo,” Thames said.
And alongside those staples, a few new additions are already generating buzz.
“The boudin po’boy has just an absolutely phenomenal flavor,” he said.
Then there’s the chopped cheese po’boy, a Louisiana spin on a classic. The new menu item is a kind of marriage between a Philly cheesesteak and a cheeseburger. It’s a take on a Philly cheesesteak but made with ground beef and a burger-style sauce.
For Thames and his partners, success isn’t measured strictly in revenue.
“Success for me has never been a dollar thing,” he said. “Success for me is smiling faces.”
That vision extends beyond customers to staff and the broader community.
“A place where employees show up daily and know that they’re representing more than just a restaurant.”
The goal is to create something that develops people, supports local organizations and gives Shreveport something to rally around.
What’s open now is only phase one.
“Phase one was just getting this thing cleaned up and getting it functioning again as a restaurant,” Thames said.
Future plans stretch beyond the building itself, with ideas to improve walkability, activate nearby Bayou Pierre and create more usable outdoor space for families and visitors.
“I’d love nothing more than to figure out how to build a deck overlooking that golf course,” he said, referring to Querbes Golf Course, which backs up to the restaurant.
The vision is bigger than a single business. It’s about shaping the surrounding area into something more connected, more inviting and more alive.
For all the upgrades, the investment and the vision ahead, the most important outcome is the one you feel when you walk through the door.
It still feels familiar.
“I’m most proud that we were able to keep it feeling like Marilynn’s Place,” Thames said. “We just upped what it was.”
And after years of conversations, months of construction and a community watching closely, that may be the biggest success of all.
This article was originally published in the May 2026 issue of Three18 Insider magazine.
