After nearly a decade of gathering dust, the long-vacant dining room at 1041 Dumaine Street is buzzing again. Succotash, the latest project from chef-owner Kimberly “Chef K” Cochran, has brought dinner service and Sunday brunch back to the 1860s-era French Quarter space, which has about 80 seats and a menu that marries Southern comfort food with global flavors. The restaurant currently operates Wednesday through Sunday, with Sunday brunch, and Cochran has her eye on turning the upstairs into a dining-and-event gallery overlooking Armstrong Park and the Quarter. For neighbors, it is not just another opening, it is the return of one of Dumaine and Rampart’s most storied restaurant rooms.
Historic Space Returns
The corner room at Dumaine and Rampart has serious restaurant history behind it. According to Gambit, the address has housed a string of notable tenants, including Gentilich's, the Peristyle under John Neal and later Anne Kearney, and multiple iterations of Marti's, before the lights went out in 2015. That long lineage helped shape Cochran’s approach to the revival. The renovation keeps many of the original architectural details in place while updating the back-of-house and service flow so the old room can function like a modern restaurant instead of a museum.
What To Eat And Drink
The menu at Succotash sticks close to Southern roots, then veers playfully global. Highlights include deviled eggs finished with pork-belly nibs and salmon roe, with Cochran noting that fried shrimp or oysters are more traditional toppings in her playbook. Big eaters can go for a 30-ounce tomahawk rib-eye with house steak sauce, while seafood fans get the Crab ME9nage E0 Trois, which stacks local soft-shell crab and jumbo lump crab in a coconut sauce. Behind the bar, Thomas Moore and Zachary Domke oversee the cocktail program, and the Sunday brunch lineup features a salmon-cake croquette set over grits with a poached egg and microgreens, according to Succotash.
Chef K's Comeback
Cochran’s route back to New Orleans was anything but direct. She spent nearly a decade in Atlanta working in education and finance before shifting gears into professional kitchens, eventually landing a spot as a sous chef on the opening team at Gaia. Succotash itself began life as a catering and events operation, a lower-risk way to test the concept before Cochran signed the lease on the historic Dumaine Street space. New Orleans Magazine reports the restaurant began full service late last year and notes that Cochran has no regrets about walking away from her corporate career.
Plans For The Second Floor
The revival is not limited to the ground floor. Cochran has said she plans to transform the building’s second story into a wraparound dining-and-event gallery with views of Armstrong Park and the French Quarter, adding private-event capacity above the main room. As Gambit notes, the idea is to create more flexible event space while keeping the historic downstairs dining room intact rather than remaking it into something unrecognizable.
Why The Neighborhood Cares
Bringing a full-service restaurant back to this particular corner matters for more than just brunch reservations. A busy dining room keeps a highly visible historic space active, which in turn helps preserve the architecture and street life that define the block. The building dates to the 1860s, and its run of high-profile restaurants has made its vacancy feel like a missing tooth in the neighborhood streetscape. Its revival is both a cultural and commercial win for the area, according to Eater New Orleans, which has chronicled the site’s past incarnations.
Practical Details
Succotash currently takes reservations and serves Wednesday through Sunday evenings, with Sunday brunch in the mix. The dining room seats about 80 guests, and the restaurant can be reached at (504) 290-8848. Reservations are available through Resy, and more information, including menus and hours, can be found on Succotash.
