Wild South Is New Orleans’ First Big Restaurant Closure of 2025

The tasting menu restaurant from the chef and owner of Coquette was open for less than a year

Less than a year after opening an ambitious Lower Garden District tasting menu restaurant, Wild South, acclaimed New Orleans chef Michael Stoltzfus announced its closure on Wednesday, January 8. Wild South’s last service at 1245 Constance Street was on Saturday, January 4.

“In the end, it wasn’t the right fit for the neighborhood,” wrote Stoltzfus on Instagram. The James Beard Award-nominated chef, who also owns longtime Garden District favorite Coquette, says he envisions a new future for the small corner building at Thalia and Constance Streets.

“We are excited to work on something new and more casual in the space that can better serve our neighbors and friends,” Stoltzfus said in the announcement.

Stoltzfus first took over the historic address, which was once a neighborhood bar, in 2019. He opened restaurant Thalia with his then co-chef and partner Kristen Essig. Thalia closed in 2020, after which Stoltzfus briefly converted the address into a pop-up for fried chicken sandwiches, ice cream, and wine. In 2021, Stoltzfus partnered with Ana Castro, who worked as sous chef at both Coquette and Thalia, to open the modern Mexican tasting menu restaurant Lenga Madre. After two years of critical acclaim (Lengua Madre was a semifinalist for best new restaurant in the 2022 James Beard Awards), Stoltzfus and Castro parted ways at the end of 2023 — Castro branching out on her own to open Acamaya, and Stoltzfus pivoting to Wild South.

Randy Schmidt/Wild South

Wild South marked a bold new chapter for Stoltzfus, picking up where Coquette left off when he sunsetted its tasting menu option. The 40-seat restaurant served a five-course dinner menu Wednesday through Saturday that changed monthly, aiming for fresh takes on the “traditional foodways, ingredients, and techniques that exist in south Louisiana,” Stoltzfus told Eater last year. Stoltzfus collaborated with executive chef Bret Macris for the menus, which included dishes like rosemary Gulf shrimp with chili butter, peach, and shiso; mushroom toast with burrata and habanada vinaigrette; swordfish with nori, peanut butter, and muscadine; and Mississippi beef with chanterelles, smoked peppers, and Asher blue cheese butter. Macris announced his departure from Wild South in August 2024.

Eater has reached out to Stoltzfus but has not yet heard back. He will host private events and ticketed dinners in the Wild South space while working on its next chapter, he said in the closure announcement, promising news and updates on a new restaurant “coming soon.”