New Restaurant In Old Audubon Building To Serve "New Orleans Food"

More details are coming out about the new restaurant opening up in the bottom floor of the old Audubon building. It will be a new venture by Mike Stoltzfus, chef at the Garden District's Coquette Bistro and Wine Bar.

Stotzfus has made a name for himself at Coquette serving fresh, seasonal menu items that change daily. He opened Coquette in 2008 with partner Lillian Hubbard, who, along with Coquette general manager, Garin Siekkinen, is also a partner in Sweet Olive. While Coquette focuses on seasonal American fare, Sweet Olive is going to offer more Southern and New Orleans cuisine. Presumably because of its location just off the Quarter, where weekenders get flustered if gumbo isn't on the menu.

According to Stotzfus, Sweet Olive will start out doing breakfast and dinner, with lunch coming later. He'll also be responsible for the room service in the hotel that will share the building.

Both Sweet Olive and the Saint Hotel are set to open in mid-December, so let's hope that Stotzfus is ready to start getting calls from drunk tourists demanding room service waffles at 3 in the morning.

· Coquette's Mike Stoltzfus to open Sweet Olive in the new Saint Hotel [TP]
· Coquette [Official Site]