Jacques-Imo’s Cafe

What Jacques-Imo’s Cafe does

Jacques-Imo's Cafe is a single-location, independent Creole/Soul food restaurant founded in 1996 by chef Jacques Leonardi and his wife Amelia at 8324 Oak Street in the Uptown Riverbend/Carrollton neighborhood of New Orleans, Louisiana. The restaurant operates dinner service four nights per week (Wednesday through Friday 5-10pm, Saturday 4-10pm) with a casual dress code and walk-in-first policy, supplemented by a private dining room for groups up to 40 guests. Signature dishes include alligator sausage cheesecake, deep-fried roast beef po'boys, Cajun bouillabaisse, and smothered rabbit over grits, many of which have been featured on national television including Travel Channel's Food Paradise and Food Network's Best Thing I Ever Ate. The restaurant has operated continuously for 27+ years, consistently generating 2-hour nightly wait times and earning an 86% recommendation rate from 753 Tripadvisor reviewers.

Name

Jacques-Imo’s Cafe

Legal name

Jacques-Imo's Cafe

Website

https://jacques-imos.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1996

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Jacques-Imo's Cafe is a single-location Creole/Soul food restaurant in Uptown New Orleans, founded in 1996 by chef Jacques Leonardi, serving award-winning signature dishes at dinner four nights per week and offering catering and private events.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Casual Dining Restaurant (Creole/Soul Food)

NAICS

Full-Service Restaurants (722511), Caterers (722320)

SIC

Retail-Eating & Drinking Places (5810), Retail-Eating Places (5812)

akta.pro primary industry

Ethnic & Regional Cuisine Restaurants (THAFACAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Casual Dining Restaurants (THAFACAB), Special Occasion & Destination Restaurants (THAFACAK)

Keywords

• Creole cuisine restaurant
• New orleans dining
• Soul food restaurant
• Private event catering
• Dinner restaurant service

Headquarters

HQ city

New Orleans, Louisiana

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Dine-in Restaurant Service: Full-service dinner restaurant offering dine-in experiences. Open Wed-Fri 5-10pm, Sat 4-10pm. Traditional walk-in dining with casual dress code. Corn muffins served as complimentary starter.
2. Catering Services: Off-site catering for events including weddings, private parties, corporate events. Menu includes appetizers, entrees, box lunches, and full event catering. Inquiry form available via Toasttab platform.
3. Merchandise Shop: Online shop selling branded merchandise including art prints and posters. Jacques-Imo's Evening by Terrance Osborne poster available in signed and signed/numbered versions, priced at $75-$125.
4. Gift Cards: Digital gift cards available for purchase via Toasttab platform, delivered instantly or scheduled for custom delivery date and time.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Jacques-Imo's Cafe is a dinner-only, full-service Creole/Soul food restaurant serving signature New Orleans dishes (fried chicken, alligator sausage cheesecake, deep-fried roast beef po'boys, Cajun bouillabaisse, smothered rabbit over grits) at a single Uptown New Orleans location. The restaurant complements in-house dining with on-site private dining events for up to 40 guests, off-site catering for weddings and corporate events, digital gift cards, and a small branded merchandise line (art prints/posters).

Product overview

Jacques-Imo's Cafe operates as a single unified restaurant concept centered on authentic New Orleans Creole/Soul food. The core offering is the dinner-only restaurant at 8324 Oak Street, which pairs its in-house dining service with a private events space and catering operations. A related lunch concept, Crabby Jack's, operates as a separate po'boy shop. The brand extends into merchandise through branded art prints and manages gift card sales via a third-party platform integration. The portfolio consists of the main dinner restaurant, a sister lunch location, event services (private dining and catering), and branded merchandise—all under the unified identity established by owner/chef Jacques Leonardi since 1996.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Jacques-Imo's Cafe (Dinner Service) Full-service New Orleans Creole/Soul food dinner service at 8324 Oak Street, Uptown New Orleans. Open Wednesday through Saturday (Wed–Fri 5–10 pm, Sat 4–10 pm). Offers in-house dining and pick-up orders with signature dishes including fried chicken, alligator sausage cheesecake, deep-fried roast beef po'boys, Cajun bouillabaisse, and smothered rabbit over grits. Casual dress code; reservations by phone for parties of five or more, walk-ins welcome otherwise.
• Private Dining Room On-site private dining room accommodating parties up to 40 guests, with full menu access available for private events, celebrations, and corporate gatherings. Reservation fee required; not offered during festival and graduation seasons.
• Catering Service Off-site catering service bringing Jacques-Imo's cuisine to events including weddings, corporate events, and private parties. Catering menu includes appetizers (e.g., mini crab cakes, shrimp cocktail), entrées (fried chicken, beef dishes), sides (mac & cheese bread pudding), and box lunches. Menu customization available; inquiries handled via online form or phone.
• Gift Cards Digital gift cards redeemable at Jacques-Imo's Cafe, sold through the Toast Tab platform. Available in variable amounts and deliverable instantly or scheduled for a custom delivery date and time.
• Jacques-Imo's Evening by Terrance Osborne (Art Print) Branded art print/poster (29.5 × 23.5 inches) featuring an original painting of the restaurant by artist Terrance Osborne, available in signed or signed-and-numbered editions, priced between $75 and $125.

Quantifiable outcome

• 86% recommendation rate from 753 Tripadvisor reviewers
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• WeddingWirecoreGTM or Marketing PartnerWeddingWire is a wedding planning platform where Jacques-Imo's maintains a business profile and receives the WeddingWire Couples' Choice Award. The platform serves as a lead generation channel for wedding catering inquiries. Monique (events coordinator) is the primary contact for wedding bookings through this channel.
• Crabby Jack'scoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCrabby Jack's is a sister po' boy shop owned by Jacques Leonardi on Jefferson Ave, opened in 2002. The restaurant provides lunch service while Jacques-Imo's operates for dinner service, allowing the owner to expand culinary and entrepreneurial horizons across multiple concepts.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• Mother's Restaurant: Decades-old New Orleans casual dining institution serving Creole/Cajun fare with consistently long lines; closest comparable on the combination of perennial demand surges, casual format, and NOLA culinary-tourism positioning.
• Coop's Place: Casual New Orleans Creole/Soul food restaurant in the Quarter with a similar festive, unpretentious atmosphere, low cover/affordable tickets, and cult-following tourist appeal.
• Galatoire's Restaurant: Bourbon Street Creole institution operating since 1905 with a similar full-service, no-reservations-for-small-parties policy and loyal local-plus-tourist base; mirrors Jacques-Imo's on tradition-driven, queue-driven demand.
• Drago's Seafood Restaurant: New Orleans casual full-service restaurant famous for a signature dish (charbroiled oysters) the way Jacques-Imo's is for alligator cheesecake; directly comparable as a regionally famous, multi-location seafood/Creole operator.
• Willie Mae's Scotch House: James Beard-recognized New Orleans soul-food institution with the same regional cuisine focus and casual full-service format; directly comparable on menu category, local-icon status, and customer demographic.
• K-Paul's Louisiana Kitchen: Iconic New Orleans Creole restaurant founded by Chef Paul Prudhomme, where owner Jacques Leonardi trained; same cuisine category (Louisiana Creole), same city, and comparable tourist/local draw as a destination dining institution.
• Mr. B's Bistro: New Orleans Creole bistro offering full-service lunch and dinner with private-party capabilities; comparable on cuisine category, full-service format, and group/catering vertical (private parties, rehearsal dinners).
• Commander's Palace: Long-running New Orleans fine-dining Creole landmark with similar multi-decade brand longevity, comparable tourist-driven demand pattern, and an adjacent (but higher-priced) cuisine positioning to Jacques-Imo's.

Broad incumbents

• Arnaud's Restaurant: Established New Orleans Creole fine-dining institution with a broader offering (multiple dining rooms, jazz bar, private events) that overlaps the same cuisine and event-catering verticals as Jacques-Imo's at a different price tier.

Regional players

• Café du Monde: Quintessential New Orleans casual food destination; not a cuisine peer but the most visible benchmark for tourist-driven, casual-format, single-product-dominant New Orleans foodservice with massive brand recognition.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/jacques-imo%E2%80%99s-cafe

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Jacques-Imo’s Cafe