Jimmie Lou’s, a New Orleans-inspired restaurant from chef Jeffrey Harris, is preparing to return to Cincinnati with a new location at 1201 Broadway in the city’s Pendleton neighborhood, according to the Cincinnati Business Courier.
The restaurant is moving into the former Razzo space, bringing back a concept Harris first launched in 2021 inside Oakley Kitchen Food Hall. Jimmie Lou’s closed in 2022 as the food hall struggled, while Harris continued developing his other restaurant, Nolia Kitchen, in Over-the-Rhine. The planned return marks a revival of his original solo restaurant concept.
Jimmie Lou’s focuses on New Orleans-inspired comfort food, drawing on Harris’ upbringing in Louisiana. The original menu featured dishes such as po’boys, gumbo, jambalaya, fried catfish, red beans and rice, and beignets. The chef has said the revived concept will bring familiar New Orleans flavors back to Cincinnati, though a finalized menu for the new location has not been confirmed.
The restaurant hosted a preview pop-up at its new Pendleton location in September, serving dishes including a shrimp po’boy, red beans and rice, bread pudding and “pig mac,” a macaroni-and-cheese dish made with andouille sausage. The event offered diners an early look at the food planned for the restaurant’s return.
The name Jimmie Lou’s honors Harris’ great-grandmother, Jimmie Lou Green, who helped inspire his passion for cooking when he was a child. Harris, a New Orleans native, is also known for Nolia Kitchen, his restaurant in Over-the-Rhine, where he explores Southern cooking and flavors influenced by the broader Global South.
According to local reporting, Jimmie Lou’s was expected to open in fall 2026. An exact grand-opening date and the complete menu for the Pendleton location have not been confirmed.
WhatNow reached out to Jimmie Lou’s for additional information about the new location but had not received a response at the time of publication. This article will be updated as more details become available.
