Just across the causeway in the sleepy little town of Covington lies a landmark hotel, The Southern Hotel. Originally built in 1905 the mission-style hotel has lived many lives over the years. Opened in 1907 the hotel boasted hot water electric lights AND carpeting. In 1912 it was bought by a physician and used for a while as a sanitarium/resort treating people with respiratory illnesses.

Shuttered in 1960 it sat vacant for more than 2 decades until re-opening in 1983 functioning as government offices for St. Tammany Parish after Hurricane Katrina it was again shuttered until it was purchased by local preservationist Lisa Condrey Ward and her husband Joseph. In 2014 107 years after the date of its original opening, the Southern Hotel reopens to the public.

Originally the Southern’s restaurant was entitled Ox lot 9 a reference to the grid-like system set up by the original developer of Covington John Wharton Collins. On the grid, streets and alleys would end in an interior area of the city called “Ox-Lots” for their ability to hold cattle. The new restaurant would be called “Gloriette”. Executive Chef Steven Marsella spent some time with host Poppy Tooker to introduce us to the Gloriette.

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