Renovation work has begun on the former Zee Zee Gardens building at 2904 Perkins Road, and a new restaurant and bar will open in the space in 2016, according to designer Ali Debosier, whose firm Domain Design is doing design work for the renovation.
Debosier will not disclose the name of the new tenants or what their plans for the space entail, though she says details will be forthcoming after the first of the year. According to a building permit issued by East Baton Rouge Parish in late October, renovations to the 1,430-square-foot space will include an upgrade to the existing restaurant, exterior improvements to the façade of the building, which was built in 1931, and site work upgrades.
Kevin Reilly Jr., who owns the building, could not be reached today for comment.
Zee Zee Gardens, which for decades was a favorite watering hole in the Perkins Road overpass neighborhood, closed in late November. According to a Nov. 12 post on the restaurant’s Facebook page, a farewell party was scheduled for Nov. 28. Longtime owner Wilson Cox could not be reached for comment this afternoon.
Zee Zee Gardens is not the only Perkins Road Overpass area establishment undergoing change. Earlier this month, the owner of nearby Chelsea’s, at 2857 Perkins Road, announced he will close his restaurant and music club at the end of the year unless he can find someone to take over his lease with the building’s owners. No deal has yet been finalized, and Chelsea’s future remains up in the air.
—Stephanie Riegel
