‘225’: Zeeland Street Market seeks liquor license, expanded hours

If all goes according to plan, Zeeland Street Market will have expanded hours, serving dinner and alcohol by the fall, owner Stephanie Phares tells 225. The Garden District restaurant at 2031 Perkins Road, known for its breakfast service and soul food plate lunches, is now in the midst of being rezoned to serve liquor. Phares says she will go before the zoning commission on Monday, then the Metro Council in August. Phares says she will be able to focus on starting a dinner service in the fall once the restaurant is rezoned. “We’re hoping to go to more continuous hours,” she says. “We’ve been open now from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. with our to-go suppers. That ended up doing pretty well. But in the fall, we’ll be working on an evening menu, focusing on what I call ‘Afro-fusion’ cuisine, and have extended hours probably to 9 or 9:30 p.m.” Phares says she’s also thinking of rebranding the restaurant as Zeeland Street Day-Night, though she hasn’t made a final decision on the potential name change. Day service will feature breakfast and lunch, and night will have “more adult dinner foods,” she says. “We’ve found that the average Baton Rougean wants to have a beer or drink with their dinner,” she says. “I’m also getting more people that want to dine-in rather than order to-go. [If we can get the proper permits], the restaurant is going to be so much better.” —Matthew Sigur