A new restaurant has opened on the grounds of Nottoway Plantation, after a May 15 fire burned the 166-year-old mansion to the ground.
Randolph’s Restaurant, named after John Randolph, the sugarcane planter who commissioned the building of Nottoway in 1859, just marked its first weekend in business, Chef Matthew Morgan said Monday.
“We fed 60 people for our first brunch yesterday and it was very successful,†he said.
Morgan had joined Nottoway Plantation as chef just three weeks before the catastrophic blaze destroyed the plantation home and the Mansion Restaurant located on its bottom floor.
"I moved out here and facilitated a wedding for them, then three weeks later came the fire," said Morgan, who previously managed an Alexandria hotel's restaurant operations.Â
The cause of the Nottoway fire remains under investigation, the state Fire Marshal's Office said Monday.Â
The new restaurant is in a banquet hall, now called Randolph Hall, that stands on the Nottoway grounds on La. 1 in Iberville Parish and was unharmed in the blaze.Â
“There’s been an extreme outpouring and wanting to help†from the community, Morgan said. “I can’t even explain the outpouring of care.â€
Randolph’s Restaurant serves “eclectic ¶¶Òõh favorites — flat-out ¶¶Òõh favorites, just done my way,†said Morgan.
It’s looking for workers to help prepare and serve those dishes, Morgan said.
“We need line cooks, prep cooks, dish washers and servers,†he said. “I need quite a handful."
Interested applicants can contact the restaurant through its or at the restaurant’s phone number, (225) 545-2730.
The restaurant operates from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., Thursday through Sunday, and reopens from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m., for dinner.
