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Ian McNulty: See latest on new restaurants opening in 2023, from Uptown to Metairie

A rendering shows the interior of the forthcoming French Quarter Boulangerie, a breakfast and lunch restaurant on Chartres St. (Contributed image from FAM Design)

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BY IAN MCNULTY | STAFF WRITER
JAN 10, 2023 – 4:00 AM
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The adage sure rings true in my life: In New Orleans, when we get together at a restaurant, we’re already talking about the next one we want to visit.

In that spirit, though the year is only a few days old, here is the latest on a collection of forthcoming restaurants around the area for 2023.

Some have been in the works so long, it’s reasonable to wonder if they would open, so I’m giving the latest. Others I’ve just confirmed, showing there’s always something in the pipeline for our dining scene.

Here’s where they stand and what’s to come. I’ve arranged them by chronological estimate, and as anyone who does business around here surely knows, all projections are indeed estimates.

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King cake from the new bakery brand Dough Nguyener’s line the counter at Huey P’s Pizza & Daiquiris on Tulane Avenue in New Orleans. (Photo by Chris Granger | The Times-Picayune | The New Orleans Advocate)

PHOTO BY CHRIS GRANGER
Dough Nguyener’s, 433 Lafayette St., Gretna

Projected opening: mid-January

Betty Archote, owner of Huey P’s Pizza, has this new bakery café almost ready to go. It will have Vietnamese-style baguettes, pastry, breakfast and lunch dishes and king cakes, including the ones with Vietnamese iced coffee flavor she’s now selling from her pizzerias. And the name? It’s a riff on her family name Nguyen (pronounced “win,” thus “dough winner’s”).

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Devil Moon BBQ and Brewery Saint X are taking shape in the South Market District.

PHOTO BY WILL COVIELLO
Devil Moon BBQ and Brewery Saint X, 1100 Girod St.

Projected opening: February, before Mardi Gras

This is a double barrel concept for the South Market District, coming from Neighborhood Restaurant Group, a hospitality company based in Washington, D.C., known for its beer.

It’s a microbrewery attached to a barbecue restaurant in the ground floor of the Odeon, a high-rise apartment complex close to the Caesars Superdome and Smoothie King Center.

Leading the smoker is Shannon Bingham, who was pitmaster for Blue Oak BBQ before opening Emmylou’s, which is now a pop-up.

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Calliope Beer Works is a new brewpub taking shape in the former home of Cowbell on Oak Street. A new teal color is part of the renovation. (Staff photo by Ian McNulty, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune)

Calliope Beer Works, 8801 Oak St. (former Cowbell)

Projected opening: February

Known for nearly a decade for burgers as Cowbell, this distinctive address on the parish line will soon become a new brewpub. It’s being led by Richard Szydlo, a Chicago native who founded the contract brewery Big Shoulders Beer Co. back in his hometown.

As a brewpub, Calliope will make its own beer and serve it on the premises and offer a full kitchen.

Bon Ton Cafe
DAVID GRUNFELD/THE TIMES-PICAYUINE — The front of the Bon Ton Cafe.

DAVID GRUNFELD
Bon Ton, 401 Magazine St.

Projected opening: winter 2023

The Bon Ton was one of the oldest restaurants in New Orleans when it closed in 2020, just before the pandemic up ended everything for the restaurant business. But all along, new owner Jerry Greenbaum was planning to bring it back. Work is now underway to re-open as a new chapter for the Bon Ton.

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CHRIS GRANGER / THE TIMES-PICAYUNE The Spring 2010 Dining Guide. Lunch time crowd at Bon Ton Cafe in New Orleans.

The original restaurant had roots reaching back to the 19th century in different configurations, and it helped introduce many in New Orleans to Cajun cooking in through the 20th century. It will continue to serve Cajun and Creole food.

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A spread of Italian sandwiches from Francolini’s, a forthcoming Italian deli now running sandwich pop-ups. (Staff photo by Ian McNulty, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune)

Francolini’s Italian Deli, 3987 Tchoupitoulas St.

Projected opening: March

“Not everything from Jersey sucks.” That’s the tagline for this Italian deli based on the Italian sandwiches founder Tara Francolini grew up eating in her native New Jersey. There will be sliced meats and deli salads by the pound, while the main act will be a menu of a dozen or so sandwiches. Think Italian subs, pork sausage with broccoli raab, chicken parm and meatball subs.

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The Travis combines sweet Italian sausage with broccoli rabe and provolone, part of the menu from Francolini’s, a forthcoming Italian deli now running sandwich pop-ups. (Staff photo by Ian McNulty, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune)

These sandwiches are getting an extended preview at the ongoing pop-up Francolini runs at the Lower Garden District market and cafe the Rabbit’s Foot on Tuesdays (11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.) and Saturdays (5 p.m. to 8 p.m.).

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Elle-J’s, a Creole Italian restaurant, is part of the restaurant row in Lakeview, at 900 Harrison Avenue. (Staff photo by Ian McNulty, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune)

Outpost 45, 900 Harrison Ave. (former Elle-J’s)

Projected opening: March

When Elle-J’s closed in Lakeview, owners of the nearby, Velvet Cactus restaurant and Mid-City bar Wrong Iron quickly snapped up the property. Now plans are well underway to open Outpost 45, pitched as an upscale, casual, family-friendly restaurant mixing local flavors with American comfort food.

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The future home of Osteria Lupo taking shape on Magazine Street in New Orleans. (Staff photo by Ian McNulty, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune)

Osteria Lupo, 4609 Magazine St.

Projected opening: April

Chef Brian Burns and business partner Reno De Ranieri made their names at Costera, their modern Spanish restaurant. This spring, they plan to open their second, which will have a northern Italian focus.

Expect house-made pastas and a wood-fired oven for pizzas and roasted meat and other dishes and what they describe as an accessible, upscale-casual approach.

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The former home of the Fair Grinds coffee shop is being turned into a French-style deli by the owners of Cafe Degas in Faubourg St. John. (Staff photo by Ian McNulty, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune)

Le Ponce, 3133 Ponce de Leon St. (former Fair Grinds)

Projected opening: early spring

The owners of longtime French bistro Cafe Degas took over the space just across the street that had long been home to the Fair Grinds Coffeehouse, which closed in the pandemic. Now they’re developing plans for Le Ponce, a French-style café and deli for sandwiches, salads and other quick meals.

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The former Cavan restaurant on Magazine street is transformed for an AMC series called “The Driver.” (Photo by Sophia Germer, NOLA.com, The Times-Picayune | The New Orleans Advocate)

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Étoile, 3607 Magazine St. (former Cavan)

Projected opening: spring

Plenty of people thought this Uptown restaurant space had re-opened earlier and abruptly closed. But all the activity was simply the work of a production crew turning it into a set for the AMC series “The Driver.”

A real restaurant is in the works here, however. As reported earlier the well-known Birmingham chef, Chris Dupont has moved back to New Orleans, where he worked extensively early in his career. He recently confirmed the name will be Étoile, star in French, and will center on local sourcing and technique-driven dishes.

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Anthony “A.P.” Marullo III is redeveloping the former Andrea’s Restaurant in Metairie to create the new restaurant Marullo’s. (Staff photo by Ian McNulty, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune)

Marullo’s Italian Cuisine, 3100 19th St., Metairie (former Andrea’s)

Projected opening: June

Andrea’s restaurant closed last fall after almost four decades in the Metairie dining scene. Real estate developer, Anthony “A.P.” Marullo III bought the property and has begun an ambitious new project to transform it into a modern restaurant evoking old-school style.

It will have a fine dining component, a casual restaurant and different private, dining and ballroom spaces, continuing a role its predecessor had provided for generations.

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People pass by K-Paul’s Louisiana Kitchen that Chef Paul Prudhomme opened in 1979 on 416 Chartres St. in the French Quarter.

PHOTO BY MATTHEW HINTON / THE NEW ORLEANS ADVOCATE
French Quarter Boulangerie, 416 Chartres St. (former K-Paul’s Louisiana Kitchen)

Projected opening: mid-2023

The pandemic closing of the legendary K-Paul’s Louisiana Kitchen was one of the biggest hits to the New Orleans restaurant scene in years. Now work is underway by local businessman Robert Thompson to convert it into a large, all-day breakfast and lunch restaurant designed for high volume and swift service.

Fitting the name, French Quarter Boulangerie will have many types of pastry and a menu of savory dishes, with coffee drinks and a full bar. In the evenings, French Quarter Boulangerie will be available for private events.

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A rendering of Las Cruces Tex Mex, a new restaurant taking shape in Metairie.

Contributed image from GOAT
Las Cruces Tex-Mex, 2935 Airline Drive, Metairie

Projected opening: summer

Tacos and margaritas in an outdoor, family-friendly setting will be the theme for this large, mostly-outdoor restaurant. It’s taking shape in a long cast-off location just off Metairie Road and Causeway Boulevard, near the end of Metairie Road, where multiple neighborhoods converge.

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Las Cruces Tex Mex is a new restaurant taking shape at 2935 Airline Dr. in Metairie, the grassy triangular lot at center.

Image from Google Maps
The new restaurant is the latest from Marc Bonifacic and chef Aaron Burgau, who together founded Central City BBQ in New Orleans. They announced plans for Las Cruces in 2021, and now Ryan Gootee General Contractors has construction underway for the summer opening.

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The Vietnamese restaurant Magasin in Uptown New Orleans is part of a stretch of local restaurants on Magazine Street.

Staff photo by Ian McNulty
Kingsway, 4201 Magazine St. (former Magasin)

Projected opening: September

The Vilkhu family of Saffron NOLA is known for an original take on Indian fusion with a distinct New Orleans influence. Their next restaurant is taking shape just across the street and will be much different.

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The Vilkhu family, (from left) Ashwin, Arvinder, Pardeep and Pranita, at their restaurant Saffron NOLA on Magazine Street.

Advocate photo by Ryan Hodgson-Rigsbee
Kingsway is conceived as an upscale modern American restaurant, with elements of East Asian and French cuisines. The idea is based on the flavors this immigrant family knew through their journey in the U.S., and takes its name from the Gretna street where the family once lived.

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Chef Michael Gulotta of Maypop restaurant in downtown New Orleans on Friday, July 16, 2021 (Photo by Chris Granger | The Times-Picayune | The New Orleans Advocate)

PHOTO BY CHRIS GRANGER
TANA, 2929 Metairie Road, Metairie

Projected opening: late summer

Billed as an ambitious and upscale Italian restaurant, TANA will be led by chef Michael Gulotta of MoPho in Maypop. He ran a much smaller Italian restaurant under this name for several years on Tulane Avenue inside the former cocktail lounge Treo. Now he’s joined by a consortium of partners for a much fuller vision of traditional regional Italian cooking.

The restaurant is being built from the ground up on an increasingly active part of Metairie Road, and it’s shaping up to be a large restaurant of about 5,000 square feet. It will have a lounge, serving a separate menu of small plates and bar snacks, and outdoor patio seating.


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