09/04/2026
đș If you only know Louisiana Daiquiri CafĂ© for the drinks, you only know part of the story.
Because when Takeover TV went digging through years of history at 1881 Texas Avenue, what stood out most wasnât a celebrity appearance or one big night.
It was .
Local musicians getting a stage. DJs becoming part of the soundtrack. Sunday Funday becoming a tradition. Black-owned food trucks pulling up. Juneteenth celebrations. HBCU and Divine Nine gatherings. Scholarship fundraisers. Educators being celebrated. Alumni reconnecting. Tina B.âs birthday celebrations. Live music on the patio. After-parties that kept some of Shreveportâs biggest weekends going.
And behind all of it were Jonathan Reynolds, David Aubrey and Lemar Flukers â the three men publicly credited with launching Louisiana Daiquiri CafĂ© and betting that people would come to a part of Shreveport that needed investment.
But a vision still needs people to bring it to life.
And one of those people was Mark Myers Jr., a Shreveport firefighter who served as Louisiana Daiquiri CafĂ©âs opening manager and mixologist â helping establish the atmosphere and experience during the cafĂ©âs earliest days.
Years later, Myers is back alongside the team, continuing a legacy he helped build from the beginning.
They came.
And years later, theyâre still coming.
Thatâs the Louisiana Daiquiri CafĂ© story.
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đïž BEFORE THE PARTIES, THERE WAS A VISION
The groundwork was already being laid in November 2018, when Shreveport-Caddo Metropolitan Planning Commission records show an approved site-plan case for Louisiana Daiquiri Cafe at 1881 Texas Avenue. Jonathan Reynolds was listed as the applicant and FAR Associates, LLC as the owner of the property.
By approximately 2019, Louisiana Daiquiri Café was open.
In 2021, KSLA profiled Reynolds and reported that he had teamed with David Aubrey and Lemar Flukers to help build up an area along Texas Avenue commonly referred to as the West End.
Reynoldsâ time in New Orleans as a college student helped inspire the business concept, but the mission was bigger than opening another nightlife establishment.
He told KSLA the group wanted to bring more traffic to the area, encourage investment and redevelopment, and improve the quality of life in a part of Shreveport that had been neglected.
Think about that.
Before Sunday Funday. Before the packed patio. Before the bands. Before the anniversaries. Before the famous faces.
Somebody first had to believe people would come to Texas Avenue.
And once the doors opened, it took a team to turn that vision into an experience.
Mark Myers Jr. was part of that original formula.
As the cafĂ©âs opening manager and mixologist, Myers helped establish the operation and atmosphere customers encountered in those early days. And while his career as a firefighter represents another form of service to Shreveport, his place in Louisiana Daiquiri CafĂ©âs beginning connects him to a completely different piece of the cityâs story.
Today, his return brings that story full circle:
An original piece of the foundation is back â continuing the legacy.
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đč SHREVEPORT WASNâT JUST THE LOCATION â IT WAS THE IDENTITY
Louisiana Daiquiri Café could have been another generic Louisiana-themed concept.
Instead, it leaned directly into Shreveport.
Local tourism officials have described the café as occupying a renovated historic building, and its drinks have carried names honoring Shreveport communities including Highland, Mooretown and Allendale.
KSLA reported another important detail: inside were wall wraps honoring local artists, entertainers and athletes who had made an impact nationally while still calling Shreveport home.
That matters.
The cafĂ© wasnât trying to make Texas Avenue feel like Bourbon Street.
It was making Shreveport part of the experience.
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đ€ THE LOCAL STAGE BECAME PART OF THE LEGACY
This may be the most important piece of the entire story.
Louisiana Daiquiri CafĂ© didnât simply give people somewhere to go.
It gave people somewhere to perform.
The cafĂ©âs own event archive documents years of musicians, bands, vocalists and DJs being promoted through the venue.
That history includes names such as Big Fella Zil, JaQuan Davis, Q Major the Violinist, Native to the Parish Band, Marcia Nelson, John Bell, Ary The Vibe, Tipsey The Band and Muzikology The Band, among others.
Then there are the DJs.
DJ Static Shock. DJ Merk. DJ Duke Baby Love. DJ Pacmann. DJ Flow. DJ B Smoove. DJ G Soul. DJ Josh Scott.
And many more.
Recurring concepts such as FAR END Live Music Nights, Sip & Soul Fridays and Karaoke Thursdays kept the calendar moving while creating opportunities for entertainers to perform in front of Shreveport audiences.
Thatâs an important distinction.
Anybody can book one big night.
Doing it over and over, year after year, is how you build culture.
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âïžđč SUNDAY FUNDAY BECAME A TRADITION
Of all the names that repeatedly show up throughout Louisiana Daiquiri CafĂ©âs event history, one may be more important than any performer:
SUNDAY FUNDAY.
Different years.
Different DJs.
Different performers.
Different birthday celebrations.
Different special editions.
Same tradition.
Sunday Funday became one of Louisiana Daiquiri CafĂ©âs signatures â a combination of patio atmosphere, music, drinks, birthdays and live entertainment that kept returning to the calendar.
Even Shreveport-Bossierâs official tourism site today describes Louisiana Daiquiri CafĂ© as having popular live DJs and an outstanding âpatio partyâ vibe.
And when the café celebrated five years in business in March 2024, Sunday Funday was right there.
The cafĂ©âs archive advertised a 5-Year Anniversary Sunday Funday Patio Party featuring Big Fella Zil and Rocko & Friends.
Thatâs fitting.
Because Sunday Funday wasnât simply another flyer.
It became part of the Louisiana Daiquiri Café identity.
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đ TINA B. â WHEN A VENUE BECOMES PART OF PEOPLEâS LIVES
Then there are the traditions that donât necessarily make television.
They make memories.
The cafĂ©âs archive documents Tina B. through hosting appearances and birthday celebrations that became part of the venueâs social history.
And those celebrations deserve to be mentioned.
Because when people repeatedly choose the same establishment for birthdays, reunions, anniversaries, homecomings, graduations and other milestones, something has changed.
Theyâre no longer simply patronizing a business.
Theyâre attaching pieces of their lives to it.
Those nights may never generate national headlines.
But those are the nights that turn a business into somebodyâs place.
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đ€ BLACK BUSINESS. JUNETEENTH. COMMUNITY.
Keep digging and it becomes increasingly difficult to describe Louisiana Daiquiri Café as simply nightlife.
The cafĂ©âs history includes Juneteenth programming, Black-business events, scholarship fundraising, educator appreciation, food-truck nights and community gatherings.
Shreveport-Bossier tourism officials listed a Juneteenth event at Louisiana Daiquiri Café as far back as 2021.
And years later, the community connection remained.
The archive documents events including Black Business Block Party, Gospel Brunch, educator events, scholarship-related programming and multiple Juneteenth celebrations.
Official tourism coverage continues to recognize Louisiana Daiquiri CafĂ© as part of Shreveport-Bossierâs Black-owned nightlife scene.
Thatâs not one community event thrown onto a calendar.
Thatâs a pattern.
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đ WHEN ONE BUSINESS CREATES ROOM FOR OTHER BUSINESSES
Then there are the food trucks.
This is another part of the story thatâs easy to overlook.
Different food-truck operators have been featured throughout the cafĂ©âs event history, creating another layer to the ecosystem surrounding 1881 Texas Avenue.
In fact, Visit Shreveport-Bossier specifically tells visitors to hang out at Louisiana Daiquiri Café, where different food trucks are parked weekly.
Think about what that means economically.
One gathering place can create opportunities for musicians, DJs, food-truck operators, caterers, vendors, promoters and other entrepreneurs.
The footprint becomes bigger than the original business.
One business creates room for other businesses to eat too.
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đđŻ HBCU & DIVINE NINE CULTURE HAD A PLACE THERE TOO
The cafĂ©âs archive also reads like a timeline of Black collegiate and Greek culture.
Grambling-related events. Southern University connections. Kappa gatherings. Sigma events. AKA-related celebrations. National Pan-Hellenic Council programming. Founders Day celebrations. Alumni gatherings. Football weekends.
Its history includes scholarship fundraising associated with the Shreveport National Pan-Hellenic Council.
There were socials.
There were football gatherings.
There were alumni celebrations.
There were events that brought different generations together.
Thatâs significant because HBCU and Divine Nine culture isnât simply a nightlife theme in Louisiana.
Itâs part of the fabric of the community.
Louisiana Daiquiri Café provided another address where that culture could gather.
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đ EDUCATORS GOT THEIR FLOWERS TOO
Educators repeatedly show up in the cafĂ©âs history.
Its archive includes teacher-centered programming such as Class Dismissed, educator appreciation gatherings and other events specifically recognizing people working in classrooms throughout the community.
And when you put everything together, the picture becomes clearer.
The musicians.
The DJs.
The teachers.
The entrepreneurs.
The food-truck owners.
The HBCU alumni.
The Divine Nine.
The community organizations.
The regular customers.
Thatâs the cake.
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đ AND WHEN THE BIG EVENTS ENDED⊠THE NIGHT DIDNâT ALWAYS END
Louisiana Daiquiri Café also developed another role:
The after-party destination.
One of the clearest examples in its archive is the Rozay Dray Official Pool Party After Party, with DJ Pacmann among the entertainment promoted for the event.
There were football-weekend after-parties, anniversary celebrations, homecoming-related gatherings and other special-event programming.
The concert ends.
The game ends.
The pool party ends.
And then everybody asks:
âWhere are we going next?â
For plenty of nights in Shreveport, the answer became:
1881 Texas Avenue.
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đ AND YES⊠SOME BIG NAMES PULLED UP TOO
Somewhere along the way, some very recognizable names became pieces of Louisiana Daiquiri Café history too.
Based on the cafĂ©âs own social-media archive and event history reviewed by Takeover TV, 50 Cent, Master P and O.J. Simpson are among the nationally known figures connected with appearances at the establishment.
New Orleans rap legend Juvenile has performed there.
Shreveport rapper Hurricane Chris has also been part of the venueâs history.
And HollyHood Bay Bay belongs in that history as well.
Thatâs an impressive collection of names for an independently owned establishment on Texas Avenue.
But they arenât what made Louisiana Daiquiri CafĂ© important.
Theyâre the frosting â not the cake.
Because the cake was already there.
The musicians.
The DJs.
The entrepreneurs.
The food trucks.
The educators.
The HBCUs.
The Divine Nine.
Tina B.âs celebrations.
Sunday Funday.
The community.
The famous names added another chapter.
Shreveport wrote the book.
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đ¶đ„ THEN CAME THE HUMOR & HARMONY EFFECT
And in August 2024, something happened that showed just how valuable years of building that foundation could become.
50 Centâs Humor & Harmony Weekend hit Shreveport.
Ahead of the festival, tourism officials said at least 30,000 visitors were expected, with hotels selling out and local restaurants, casinos and other businesses preparing for a potentially enormous economic impact.
Louisiana Daiquiri CafĂ© didnât sit on the sidelines.
Its own archive documents Humor & Harmony Weekend programming and promotions, allowing Texas Avenue to participate in the energy surrounding one of the cityâs biggest entertainment weekends in years.
And the impact wasnât simply social-media hype.
KSLA News 12 came back and interviewed Jonathan Reynolds about it.
In an October 2024 segment specifically focused on Louisiana Daiquiri CafĂ©, KSLA reported that Reynolds said his business saw âmajor successâ during 50 Centâs Humor & Harmony.
Thatâs a powerful full-circle moment.
Remember how this story started?
Years earlier, Reynolds, Aubrey and Flukers had invested on Texas Avenue because they wanted to increase traffic and encourage redevelopment in an overlooked part of Shreveport.
Then one of the largest entertainment weekends the city had experienced arrived â and the business theyâd spent years building was positioned to benefit from it.
Humor & Harmony brought a massive spotlight to Shreveport.
Louisiana Daiquiri CafĂ© was already there â ready for it.
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đ FIVE YEARS BECAME SIX⊠AND THE STORY KEPT GOING
Longevity may ultimately be one of the greatest accomplishments in this entire story.
The cafĂ©âs own archive documents its 5-Year Anniversary celebration in March 2024, supporting an opening around 2019.
Then came the 6-Year Anniversary.
Consider what those years included.
A business opening around 2019 almost immediately ran headfirst into the COVID-19 era â an extraordinarily difficult period for bars, hospitality businesses and entertainment venues.
Yet Louisiana Daiquiri Café continued.
The patio remained.
The music continued.
The DJs returned.
The bands performed.
The food trucks pulled up.
The birthdays continued.
Sunday Funday kept coming back.
And Shreveport kept showing up.
And now thereâs another full-circle piece to that longevity:
Mark Myers Jr., the opening manager and mixologist who was there helping build the experience at the beginning, is back â continuing the legacy years later.
Sometimes longevity isnât only measured by how long a business remains open.
Sometimes itâs measured by people coming back home to what they helped build.
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đŠ TAKEOVER TV SPOTLIGHT
After digging through years of Louisiana Daiquiri Café history, Takeover TV came away with one overwhelming conclusion:
The story was never really about the daiquiris.
It was about what happened around them.
Jonathan Reynolds, David Aubrey and Lemar Flukers took a chance on Texas Avenue.
Mark Myers Jr. was there in the beginning as opening manager and mixologist, helping turn that vision into an experience â and today, heâs back helping continue the legacy.
What followed was years of people creating something together.
Big Fella Zil and other local musicians performed there.
DJs built nights there.
Sunday Funday became a tradition there.
Tina B. celebrated there.
Black-owned food trucks served customers there.
Educators got their flowers there.
HBCU alumni gathered there.
Divine Nine organizations celebrated there.
Scholarships were supported there.
Juneteenth was celebrated there.
The Rozay Dray Official Pool Party After Party continued the night there.
Humor & Harmony brought an enormous wave of attention and visitors to Shreveport â and Louisiana Daiquiri CafĂ© was positioned to capitalize on the moment.
And yes, 50 Cent, Master P, O.J. Simpson, Juvenile, Hurricane Chris and HollyHood Bay Bay became pieces of the history too.
But the famous names donât define Louisiana Daiquiri CafĂ©.
THE PEOPLE DO.
The people who had the vision.
The people who helped open the doors.
The people who performed.
The people who worked.
The people who promoted.
The people who celebrated.
The people who brought their businesses there.
The people who supported those businesses.
The people who filled that patio.
The people who left â and came back to continue the legacy.
The people who kept coming back.
Years after three men decided to bet on an overlooked stretch of Texas Avenue, perhaps the best measure of what they built is also the simplest:
SHREVEPORT IS STILL SHOWING UP. đčđ¶đ„
Louisiana Daiquiri CafĂ© didnât just sell daiquiris.
They created space for the culture.
And THAT is why LOUISIANA DAIQUIRI CAFĂ is in the TAKEOVER TV SPOTLIGHT. đŠđ
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