Dave Remmetter has put his popular Perkins Road overpass area restaurant Chelsea’s Cafe on the market and says he is negotiating with a potential buyer. But if the deal falls through, Remmetter says he will close the restaurant, also well known as a live music venue, at the end of the year.
“It’s a good location and it’s a good business,” Remmetter says. “But I can’t do it here any more.”
Remmetter says he has had problems dealing with his landlord, Colonel’s Club LLC, for several years and is currently on a month-to-month lease, a situation that makes doing business difficult. He is also busy with several other businesses he co-owns, including The Radio Bar on Government Street, Bin-Q Liquor on Perkins Road and a new beer garden planned for the intersection of Government Street and Steele Boulevard.
“Once we got the beer garden rezoned on Government Street I decided I had so much on my plate I just don’t have the time to deal with what I’m dealing with over here,” he says.
Remmetter says he has had conversations with several local restaurant owners about buying out his business, and says talks with one group in particular appear promising. But it’s too early to say for sure whether the deal will materialize.
“If it falls through, we will not reopen Jan. 1,” he says.
Chelsea’s, which was founded by Remmetter’s parents in the late 1980s, was originally located at 148 W. State St., where the College Row retail development is now located. Remmetter took over the establishment from his parents in the late 1990s, when video poker was outlawed in East Baton Rouge Parish, and relocated to the Perkins Road Overpass in 2006.
Regardless of what happens with sale talks, Remmetter says Chelsea’s will remain open through Dec. 31 and will honor reservations for all scheduled holiday events.
—Stephanie Riegel
