This new restaurant opening in Perry wants to bring the Big Easy to Middle Georgia

A new restaurant coming to downtown Perry wants to give its guests an experience reminiscent of dining in one of the South’s iconic cities.

‘Orleans on Carroll Street is expected to open in early 2022 at 807 Carroll St.

“They are going to be totally immersed — from the time they get out of their car to the time they get back in their car — with New Orleans,” said co-owner Steven Wemple.

The restaurant is the vision of Wemple and friend and business partner, Curtis George.

“We’re going to introduce Perry to the fun atmosphere of New Orleans,” Wemple said. “We’re going to have a second line parade and sooner or later, we’re going to have a full blown Mardi Gras parade.”

The friends have enlisted John Staurulakis and Tim Harko, Culinary Institute of America trained chefs, to create a distinctive menu that offers southern food with a Cajun twist.

“You can’t go into a restaurant in the Southeast and not find macaroni and cheese,” Wemple said. “We’re going to have macaroni and cheese. But the adult version is with andouille sausage and blackened shrimp.

“We’re going to have po-boys. But we’re also going to have hamburgers and cheeseburgers and chicken sandwiches ... Jambalaya, etouffee, gumbo will all be on the menu.”

The restaurant’s bar will feature O’Brien’s Hurricanes and other New Orleans cocktails such as the Sazerac.

Distinct elements of New Orleans

Wemple and George hired Perry-based JMA Architecture to bring their vision of a restaurant reminiscent of the streetscapes of New Orleans to life. The building, which previously housed Rusty’s Downtown Bar and Grill on the first floor and a medical billing company on the second, will undergo a remodel.

The main restaurant will be on the first floor and is expected to include a back room that can be used for overflow dining, or private event dining. The first floor will also house the Crescent City Bar and Grill.

A large, outdoor courtyard will grace the Jernigan Street side of the restaurant. The courtyard will include an overhead awning with drapes for shelter from the sun or rain and patio heaters for when the temperatures drop.

There will be two waterfalls outside the restaurant — one facing Carroll Street and one facing Jernigan Street.

Incorporated into the restaurant will be other distinct elements of New Orleans, including a Blue Dog painting, gas lanterns and wrought iron fencing. The Blue Dog series of paintings by the late Louisiana contemporary artist George Rodrigue have become synonymous with New Orleans.

The second-floor is expected to include a bar and seating area with a balcony. The second floor also will house two apartments, which will be available for rent to the general public.

“If you’re standing at the old Courthouse and you look across the street, there’s no question — that is New Orleans,” said Wemple as he explained the vision for the restaurant.

The second-floor will be utilized for private and special events.

“For instance, on New Year’s Eve, we would sell tickets, and your ticket includes heavy appetizers all night long ... probably two to three free drinks, something like that,” Wemple said. “You get an armband, or something, so you can go downstairs, go out and walk around, watch the Buzzard Drop and then come back in.”

In April, the ‘Orleans on Wheels food truck made its debut at the Perry Dogwood Festival.

“The food truck we brought on as a cool way to get more involved in the area and is obviously a nice way to make a little money on top,” Staurulakis said. “But advertising is the primary focus.”

Expecting that ‘Orleans on Carroll St. will be successful based on their research for the restaurant, Wemple and George already have identified other sites in Middle Georgia as possible, additional locations. They’re keeping those potential locations under wraps for now, wanting to get the new restaurant off the ground and gauge its performance.

Their limited liability company Beaux Eden Restaurants, is the parent company for ‘Orleans on Carroll Street, ‘Orleans on Wheels and what the restaurants they envision will follow. Wemple is the president and chief executive officer, and George is the chief financial officer.

Beginnings

Wemple and George met in the late ‘70s when both were working for the fast food restaurant chain Wendy’s. George was a manager trainee and Wemple was his area supervisor.

“We ran together, but then we went separate ways,” George said. “He stayed quick serve. I went full service. We’d run into each other through the years.”

Both achieved success in their endeavors. As a restaurateur, George managed highly acclaimed restaurants, including the iconic Joe’s Stone Crab in Miami Beach. He later went into aviation, operating fixed based operations, and then insurance.

Wemple made his fortune as a franchise partner in fast food restaurant chains such as Taco Bell and Burger King. He retired about four-and-a-half years ago.

Before retiring, Wemple purchased a 1,400 acre commercial hunting venture in Fort Valley known as Beaux Eden Plantation. In December 2019, he acquired the restaurant building in downtown Perry and brought George onboard.

In February 2020, Wemple and George spent a lot of time with the architect for the restaurant. Then, the global COVID-19 pandemic hit home.

“We kinda took a ... hiatus during COVID,” Wemple said. “Everybody was just kind of in pause mode. Otherwise, we’d already be open by now.”

George knew Staurulakis from years back from a cigar social club via Facebook. Its members would meet up a few times a year in South Florida to eat good food, smoke cigars and hang out. George had kept up with Staurulakis, who was working in a restaurant in New Orleans. George and Wemple invited Staurulakis on board as general manager and executive chef.

Staurulakis invited Harko, who’d become a close friend when the two had been in chef school together, to join the venture as sous-chef, second in command in the kitchen.

Wemple and George are banking on the restaurant’s success, but there’s more to it than that.

“I’ve made a lot of money throughout my life,” Wemple said. “Right now, I just want to be recognized as being involved in something from a hospitality and food quality standpoint, I’m proud of.”

George added, “This is our swan song.

“We’ve both been around. We’ve both done a lot of things. We’ve both created a lot of success in our lives and we’re going to go out with another successful notch in our belts.”