Fayette’s most anticipated new business hopes to be up and running in time for graduation season in May. Owners Brandy Asbury and Matt Buckman, former longtime co-managers of Emmet’s Kitchen & Tap, are working on plans to re-establish downtown dining in Fayette with LaFayette on the Square. 

As was announced in the December 11 Fayette Advertiser, the restaurant will anchor Central Methodist University’s new $11 million Eagle Plaza, which was recently completed on the west side of the square.

Buckman and Asbury sat down with the Advertiser on Friday to discuss their plans for Fayette’s new dining hub. They’re hoping the experience of running Emmet’s together for almost two decades translates into a return of that informal town center where people get together for good food and good times.

While they have a new building, the internal buildout still must be completed. A bar area at the entrance will give way to a dining area to the right as customers enter LaFayette on the Square through the arched doorway near the corner of Church and Morrison streets. There will also be room for seating outside along Morrison Street on the building’s south side.

“We’re working on blueprints and plans right now,” Asbury said. 

Construction has been on hold while the university has been closed for the holidays. Once a few more details are ironed out, the interior can begin to take shape.

“We have to finalize our kitchen layout. That way, we can get it to the architect and have him lay out the water lines and so forth,” Buckman explained.

Additionally, LaFayette will have to wait until The Gym, another new business in Eagle Plaza, re-locates to Central’s building on the north side of the square, which formerly housed the university’s e-sports team, and, before that, was the home for Dollar General. The change allows The Gym to have more space for equipment while freeing up additional dining areas for LaFayette, which will eventually occupy four storefronts and seat around 140 people.

That larger dining area could allow for a private dining room that guests may rent out for special occasions, although Asbury says plans are still in the early stages.

LaFayette will boast a similar menu that Buckman has been cooking for the last 20 years at Emmet’s. He began his culinary career under Emmet’s founder and chef, Rob Schluckebier, who passed away in September 2019. 

Buckman said the creole-style menu will meet the expectations of the scores of faithful Emmet’s customers, both locally and those who visited Fayette just for dinner.

Buckman has shown his kitchen creativity with special weekend features known as “Matt’s Table.” Now crafting his own menu, some of those entrees could become permanent fixtures.

“We’ll throw a couple of those on there,” he said. “We’ll continue to do the weekend specials. At first, we need to work on sticking with the menu and getting everything down.”

Asbury agreed. She said the menu will be designed both for folks needing a quality bite on the way to a ball game, as well as those looking for a nice dinner out.

“We’re wanting to appease everybody,” she said.

While quality food and drinks are certainly on the minds of diners eager for LaFayette’s launch, they also want the excellent customer service that comes along with the delicious fare.

Asbury said that many of the employees from Emmet’s, both from the kitchen and the front of house, have been in contact and hope to be a part of LaFayette.

“Almost everybody from the front has said they want to come back,” she said.

While there is plenty to do before LaFayette can open its doors, Buckman and Asbury will keep the public up to date on social media. Expect photos and updates on the restaurant’s Facebook page in the coming months.

“I think we’re both in agreement on this one that we think moving into a new building gives the town an opportunity to revitalize the square and bring it back,” Buckman said. “It’s a new location, new starts, new beginnings, but taking the old and the new and blending them together. I think it’s a perfect combination.”