Special to the La. Weekly from The Urban Conservancy — Located at 2401 St. Ann St., just two blocks off the path of the Lafitte Greenway, Willie Mae's Scotch House has been a culinary institution for more than 50 years. Willie Mae Seaton, the restaurant's namesake and proprietress for most of its long history, originally opened the famous business in 1956 as a bar on Tremé St. A year later, however, the young business moved to the corner of St. Ann and North Tonti St., where it has been ever since. For several years, this space held not only Willie Mae's, but also a barbershop and beauty salon. When the latter businesses closed in 1972, Willie Mae's expanded into their former space. This expansion allowed Willie Mae's to begin offering restaurant service, and the modern incarnation of Willie Mae's was born.
By 2005, Willie Mae's was locally and nationally famous for its exquisite fried chicken, smothered pork chops, butter beans and other southern specialties. In May of the same year, the small, family-owned restaurant achieved what most other eateries can only dream about — it was honored by the James Beard Foundation, dubbed the 'Oscars of the Food World' by Time magazine, with the American Icon award for the Southern Region. Willie Mae Seaton was also honored at City Hall for her contributions to the city of New Orleans. Yet, only three months later, Hurricane Katrina flooded the restaurant, kitchen and bar with four feet of water, throwing the institution's future into doubt. Help came in the form of the Southern Foodways Alliance, which assisted in raising $200,000 and mobilized volunteers from all over the country to help the Seaton family rebuild. Due in a large part to their efforts, Willie Mae's Scotch House reopened in April of 2007.
Upon reopening, Ms. Seaton turned over the daily operation of the restaurant to the able hands of her granddaughter, Kerry Seaton. Since that time, the accolades have continued, and Willie Mae's has featured by the Food Network, which bestowed the honor of "America's Best Fried Chicken," the Travel Channel and Bon Appetite magazine. This increase in national attention has led to an increasing number of tourists stopping in for the famous fried chicken, though New Orleans natives still make up a large portion of the daily clientele. Celebrities, too, have made the pilgrimage to Willie Mae's, including Spike Lee, Magic Johnson, R&B singers Ginuwine and Drake, and numerous actors and actresses. Tony Kornheiser, host of "Pardon" the Interruption on ESPN radio and former Monday Night Football analyst, referred to the Seaton family's fried chicken on air as "the world's best."
The younger Ms. Seaton sees a bright future for Willie Mae's Scotch House, but would love to see more traffic in the area. She envisions the section of the Tremé and the Seventh Ward surrounding the restaurant transformed into a culinary and entertainment district, "where people come out in the evening and enjoy themselves, just like they do Uptown or in Mid-City." An increase of interest in the area, due in no small part to Willie Mae's acclaimed cuisine, as well as the impending construction of the Lafitte Greenway, may soon make this vision a reality.
Ethan Ellestad is a contributing writer for The Louisiana Weekly.
Photos by Vincent Sylvain.
This article was originally published in the January 4, 2010 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.
Founded in 2001, The Urban Conservancy is dedicated to research, education and advocacy that promote the wise stewardship of the urban built environment and local economies.
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