The Bogalusa Coke Plant: From abandoned site to elegant venue

BOGALUSA, La. (WGNO) — In the heart of Bogalusa, the Coke Plant has stood tall since 1930. It’s one spot where the country’s most popular soda was bottled.

It’s also somewhere Bernie Brennan and his father frequented.

“My father and I, we had been in the vending business for 75 years selling cokes and vending and we had a candy machine here and we would fill it,” said Bernie Brennan.

In 1980, the Coke Plant closed its doors, but the building remained. Over time, it deteriorated, the roof even caving in.

Fast forward to 2020, that’s when Bernie Brennan made the decision to buy the plant, but didn’t know what he was going to do with it. “I just wanted to fix it,” he said.

And fix it, that’s what Bernie Brennan and his son, James Brennan, did. Over 60,000 bricks and hundreds of hours of labor later, the two took the Coke Plant from an abandoned site to an elegant event space complete with some original touches.

“All the original wood doors were covered in 10 coats of paint, [they] had to be meticulously stripped down, refinished and we hung them back,” said James Brennan. “We had to put it back in a historic way, a historic manner it’s on the national register.”

Keeping with the integrity of what it once was, Coke memorabilia is displayed throughout the space that officially reopened its doors in 2023.

Now, birthday parties, baby showers, class reunions and all different types of events use the building, which can accommodate around 500 guests.

For James Brennan, the venue holds a special place in his heart. “My wedding was the first event that happened here.”

With so many people having been touched by the Coke Plant at some point in their lives, to reopen it with a new purpose is something the father-son duo are proud of.

“So many people worked here. So many people have come out of the wood works. So many memories, so many families,” said Bernie Brennan.

“We make new history every day,” added James Brennan.

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