Le Petit Theatre / Tableau Restaurant

The French Quarter building housing the Le Petit Theatre and the Tableau Restaurant dates back to 1797, serving as a residence for the last Spanish Governor of Louisiana, Don Manuel Gayoso de Lemas, and a barracks by occupying Union soldiers during the Civil War. In 1922 the building became a centerpiece of urban and artistic revival. In 2011, Le Petit Theater sold a portion of the building to the Dickie Brennan Restaurant Group.

Working with a local general contractor, Moses Engineers provided full mechanical, electrical, and plumbing (MEP) design services for the new restaurant occupying three floors of the building as well as MEP services for the theatre itself.

Building a modern restaurant in a 200+ year old building presented many challenges. The first floor display kitchen presented challenges due to its location- buried in the heart of the building- and the massive hood and ducts required for the cooking equipment. This was further complicated by the second floor kitchen and hood directly above. We designed a Variable Refrigerant Volume system to accommodate the limited height above the ceilings. The restaurant consists of first and second floor dining spaces, private dining rooms on the second and third floors, and a separate wine cellar and board room on the third floor.

Open air balconies on the second floor providing scenic dinning overlooking Jackson Square presented additional air pressurization challenges. Moses Engineers provided air flow with minimal noise by using lined, oversized ductwork.

Le Petit Theatre upgrades include new dressing rooms, updated sound and light control tech booths, ADA seating and new offices.