Boucherie, the Carrollton restaurant chef Nathanial Zimet has run for nearly two decades, will stop regular nightly dining service on Saturday, October 17, shifting instead toward private parties, catering and seasonal pop-ups timed to New Orleans' busiest tourist months. The cottage at 8115 Jeannette St. isn't closing — but it's stepping away from the traditional restaurant model that Zimet says has quietly been losing money every month.
Zimet, who owns and runs the kitchen, told NOLA.com that the regular business model has not worked for a long time and that the restaurant loses money every month. NOLA.com reported the shift, detailing Zimet's plan to reposition Boucherie as a venue for hosting parties and private dinners rather than keeping its doors open to walk-in diners every night.
From Food Truck to Fine-Dining Fixture
Boucherie's roots go back to 2006, when Zimet launched a purple food truck known as The Que Crawl, serving late-night upscale barbecue and Southern fusion outside music venues like Tipitina's, according to Biz New Orleans. That truck became a launching pad for his reputation in the city's post-Katrina food truck scene, and per NOLA.com's reporting, a version of it still operates as part of his business today, serving late-night food with a chef's touch.
The brick-and-mortar Boucherie opened in 2008 and became known locally for dishes like Wagyu brisket, blackened shrimp on a grit cake, smoked scallops and Krispy Kreme doughnut bread pudding, per the NOLA.com report. In 2015, Zimet relocated Boucherie to a larger space on South Carrollton Avenue and turned the original Jeannette Street cottage into Bourrée, a fast-casual Cajun smokehouse and wing spot — before eventually moving Boucherie back into its original cottage home, according to Where Y'at Magazine.
Zimet's personal history in the neighborhood runs deeper than the menu. He survived a near-fatal shooting during an armed robbery outside his home in May 2011 after an all-night shift at Boucherie and was hospitalized, the Daily Meal reported. He went on to win an episode of Food Network's Chopped in 2012.
A Tasting Menu Experiment, Then a Pullback
Zimet had already tried other fixes before landing on the catering-first model. Per the same Where Y'at account, after a summer hiatus in late 2025, Boucherie briefly relaunched as a high-end destination with a nine-course degustation tasting menu priced at $115 per person, featuring dishes like Andalusian white gazpacho and Wagyu beef, before the kitchen decided to end regular nightly service altogether. NOLA.com's reporting adds that Zimet had previously tried closing during the slowest summer months and had also added a five-course chef's tasting menu as earlier attempts to steady the books.
Going forward, Boucherie will operate as a restaurant only during periods proven financially viable, per NOLA.com — including a Réveillon prix fixe menu in December, COOLinary menus in August, and service on Valentine's Day. The same report notes that Boucherie's regular-style service will resume during other busy stretches and holidays throughout the year, rather than year-round.
Betting on Event Space Over Empty Tables
Central to the new model is the shared footprint Zimet has built between Boucherie and its sister restaurant, Bourrée, a fast-casual counter-service spot at 1510 S. Carrollton Ave. serving sandwiches, wings and smoked Cajun meats, according to NOLA.com. The two restaurants are connected by an L-shaped garden space, and Bourrée — which has a patio and beer garden for outdoor cooking and live music — will continue regular operations even as Boucherie steps back.
The Gardens at Bourrée, an outdoor courtyard designed for live music, pop-ups and outdoor cooking, was announced in connection with Boucherie's late-2025 hiatus, according to Where Y'at Magazine. NOLA.com reports that an additional event space and garden is under development in the lot linking the two restaurants, and Zimet foresees parties, art markets and other events filling both the Boucherie and Bourrée spaces going forward. The same chefs, staff and space will remain — Zimet's pitch is a safer business approach, not a different team.
Part of a Wider Uptown Reckoning
Boucherie's pivot lands amid a broader wave of New Orleans dining room closures in 2026, with long-standing Uptown establishments including Gris-Gris and Coquette shutting down, according to Hoodline. Hoodline has reported on August Moon's fears and on Lola's closure risk.
Beyond the restaurant walls, Zimet also runs Boucherie Feeds, a community program whose expansion was inspired by the 2020 pandemic shutdowns and that reaches over a dozen schools, per Where Y'at Magazine. Biz New Orleans has reported on the program's school lunch work.
