A New Cafe, LOU, Will Open in Inglewood by Late Summer

A small (and until recently blue) house on McGavock Pike in Inglewood has been home to the short-lived Perk and Cork, to Fort Louise, and even, way back in 2012, a purveyor of kitsch and craft, Old Made Good (OMG). 

Since Fort Louise closed at the end of the year, the building has been vacant and I've been driving by daily, hoping to see the signs of something new coming to Riverside Village (particularly as the block across the street remains in new-construction limbo).

In recent weeks local design firm 1767, known for its creative use of reclaimed wood, has been toiling away: The outside has been painted a bright white; and the neon-backed sign that used to read "Fort Louise" lost some letters. It now says, "lou."

Mailea Weger, the new restaurant's chef and owner, reports, that yes, come late summer LOU will be an all-day cafe and part wine bar, in the house next door to Mitchell Delicatessen. The restaurant, she says, will be "set in a humorous juxtaposition of Old World European style and contemporary California fare."

Weger has worked in kitchens in New Orleans, New York, Los Angeles and Paris, including serving as the opening sous chef at Gjusta in Venice Beach, Calif., a popular eatery with an emphasis on local ingredients, and the equally popular Echo in Paris. 

"I’m an East Side kind of gal — from Echo Park in Los Angeles to Brooklyn, and East Nashville," Weger says of deciding to hang her shingle in Inglewood. "I knew I wanted to position LOU within East Nashville, but fell in love with the actual building at 1304 McGavock Pike. The converted craftsman building really brought together my idea of wanting a lived-in, super intimate wine bar aesthetic."

As is the case at the Bobby Hotel downtown, LOU is an imagined character, a personality, not just a restaurant name. "LOU is the daughter of a bohemian mother living in Venice Beach and a well-read, charming Frenchman. She is the smartest and flirtiest girl at the party. The name 'LOU' is both French and American, male and female, super hip and yet, very classic," Weger says.

We'll keep you posted when LOU moves into the neighborhood.