BATON ROUGE — A familiar Highland Road restaurant location will soon welcome new life as "The Historic" prepares to open its doors this week.

The team behind Willie’s Restaurant on Coursey Boulevard has taken over the space previously occupied by Sammy’s Grill, which closed in June after nearly 40 years of operation.

Local diners won't have to wait long for a first look: The Historic will host a soft opening this Thursday night starting at 5 p.m.