KEY TAKEAWAYS: Zea opened a new 7,000-square-foot standalone restaurant on Veterans Boulevard at Clearview City Center. The new location replaces Zea’s longtime Clearview restaurant, which operated for 26 years. The restaurant features a full-service bar, outdoor patio, open kitchen and expa nded cocktail program. The former Zea space will be demolished as part of Clearview City Center’s $100 million mixed-use redevelopment. If you have been driving down Veterans Boulevard near Clearview City Center recently, you may have noticed a brand-new Zea restaurant inching closer to the main Metairie thoroughfare. That new Zea restaurant is now open for business. Zea Rotisserie Bar has opened a standalone, 7,000-square-foot restaurant at 4416 Veterans Memorial Blvd., located on the north side of the Clearview City Center parking lot. It will be open from 4-10 p.m. this week. Starting next week, operations will expand to include select lunch service hours, with exact hours to be published on the restaurant’s website. The new restaurant replaces Zea’s previous Metairie location inside Clearview City Center, where the restaurant operated for 26 years. Zea announced plans for the new location in August 2025 and remained open in its former space while the standalone restaurant was built. Gibbs Construction served as the general contractor, while Greenleaf Architects was the lead designer. The restaurant features a contemporary dining room, full-service bar, outdoor patio seating, and an open kitchen. The expanded bar program includes craft cocktails, frozen drinks, wine selections, and local and national beers. Zea was founded by Hans Limburg, Gary Darling and Greg Reggio, collectively known as The Taste Buds. The first Zea location opened in Harahan in June 1997. The brand has since grown to 10 locations throughout Louisiana and Mississippi, serving signature dishes such as rotisserie meats, roasted corn grits, and Thai ribs. Paul Hutson, CEO of Taste Buds Management, which owns and operates Zea Rotisserie Bar, said the new standalone restaurant showcases Zea’s refreshed guest experience and represents the brand’s continued investment in the Greater New Orleans market. “Zea has always been a place where friends and families come together over great food, handcrafted cocktails, and genuine hospitality,” Hutson said. “We’re excited to welcome guests around the rotisserie and into this beautiful new space to showcase the next evolution of the Zea experience right here in Metairie.” Clearview City Center, which originally opened in 1969 as Clearview Mall, is undergoing a $100 million redevelopment designed to transform the former shopping mall into a mixed-use destination with retail, dining, entertainment and residential space. With Zea now moved into its new standalone location, center operators have announced plans to demolish the restaurant’s former space for mixed-use development. Specific plans have not been announced. Since the revitalization project broke ground in 2020, Clearview City Center has added Regions Bank, Ruby Slipper, The Metro at Clearview luxury apartments, and Smalls Sliders. The former Sears building has also been transformed into an Ochsner medical center, while the nearby Target has undergone nearly $10 million in renovations. ...read more read less