Sitting vacant since 2014, the former Marti’s is fully renovated and set to become Succotash, an elevated Southern restaurant driven by the sense of a Second Act.
The building at the corner of North Rampart and Dumaine Street was home to several restaurants over its 100-plus years. Purchased by former White House advisor Cedric Richmond and local political consultant Blair Boutte in November 2024, the owners had been making repairs and cosmetic upgrades when they sold the building to Succotash owner Kimberly “Chef K” Cochran. The chef has poured nearly $1 million into modernizing the building while keeping its historical nature intact.
Cochran recently told What Now New Orleans that the building “needed a lot of love,” but the bones of the building were perfect for her concept.
“You can tell that real chefs, real restaurateurs created this space,” she said. “I literally didn’t have to move a door or knock out a wall.”
Also in her Second Act, Cochran became a chef after growing frustrated with her corporate job. The financial stability of that job allowed her to launch a successful culinary career path and open Succotash.
“I was very fortunate that I was able to say, fuck it,” she mused. “I wanted to be a private chef. I wanted to be a caterer. Because I’ve loved cooking my entire life.”
Cochran’s culinary ethos is driven by memories of her grandparents. The name Succotash is a tribute to her grandmother, who used to make the dish from scraps when she couldn’t get meat.
“I never appreciated that until recently,” Cochran said. “I told my sous chef that we need to create menus that utilize everything, all the time.”
She said Succotash will have a low-waste kitchen that focuses on local ingredients.
“We have every ingredient we need right here,” she said. “If you’re creative and intelligent, you can make something out of anything. So, all our scraps never have to be trash.”
At the bar, the cocktail program overseen by Zach Domke will look to revitalize New Orleans classics and offer a few modern drinks. Domke said carbonated cocktails. cocktails on draft, canned cocktails, and other modern approaches are things he wants to see more of in New Orleans.
“I feel that some places in New Orleans are a few years behind what’s happening in other major cities around the country,” he said. “And I believe that there’s no reason that New Orleans shouldn’t be at the forefront of cutting techniques and modernizing the ways we do things.”
Whether it’s at the bar or in the kitchen, Cochran said Succotash will pay tribute to the past while looking to the future — a successful Third Act.
“I was fortunate to get this building, and I’m gonna love this building,” she stressed. “My hopes, desires, and plans are to be here forever and to stop the transfer of this place.”
