Frostop restaurant sign back in rotation after Hurricane Ida’s destruction

LAPLACE, La. (WGNO) — More than a year after Hurricane Ida, LaPlace, which was among the areas hit the hardest, remains underway with construction and renovations. However, there’s a sign LaPlace is on the road to recovery.

The Frostop isn’t only known for its food.

“The people and the place, you know, the look of the place,” customer Ronald Garcia said.

That look includes the restaurant’s spinning frosty root beer mug sign that drivers along Airline Highway can see from nearly a mile away.

LaPlace Frostop went more than a year without its signature spinning sign because of Hurricane Ida’s wrath.

“We saw that it was knocked down, and I was like, ‘Oh no,’ and I said, ‘I wonder if they’re going to get it fixed,’ and then after things kind of went back to normal, I came back and asked the older couple who owns it. I said, ‘Are y’all going to get the sign fixed?’ And they’re like, ‘Yeah, we’re working on it,’” customer Whitney Edwards said.

Because of the owners’ determination and some help from the community, they’re now ready to show off their new neon sign.

“Incredible… it looks perfect!” Terry Toler, the co-owner and manager of LaPlace Frostop, said.

Frostop is the longest-operating business in LaPlace, which is part of the reason the mug became so iconic, and now, it’s even a sign of resiliency.

“LaPlace has lost so much over the last few years that that was one thing that I wasn’t willing to let it not have, so we’ve been leaving it on at night just like a giant night light for the town,” Toler said.

This weekend, the restaurant will be celebrating its 64th anniversary.

If you buy a Frostop t-shirt, proceeds will go toward the nearly $68,000 sign. So far, the owners have raised about $12,000.

Customers can also make a donation at the restaurant as well as send a donation via Venmo, @laplacefrostop