Don’t worry about over-indulging at St. Mary’s Restaurant, a casual and welcoming new cafe in Metairie. Get the grits and pork grillades, the Irish breakfast that’s available all day, or the red beans and rice plate lunch special on Mondays. Go ahead, order the fluffy Basque-style cheesecake for dessert. St. Mary’s is meant to be a guilt-free zone, where the more you eat, the better you feel.
That’s because the restaurant has a mission, and 15% of all tickets go to St. Mary’s Residential Community & Services, a home for developmentally disabled adults in Alexandria. Partner Bob Hecker has organized fundraisers for St. Mary’s for years as a way to show his gratitude for the community taking care of his 32-year-old son Christopher for two decades. He’s been thinking about how to do more.
Hecker has known his business partner at St. Mary’s, chef Bradley McGehee, since the chef was in the kitchen at Ye Olde College Inn. McGehee created Blue Line Sandwich Co. a dozen years ago, and he knows what it takes to run a successful niche restaurant…