Caitlin Carney and Marcus Jacobs
Marjie's Grill and Seafood Sally's | New Orleans
SEPTEMBER 2022
Caitlin Carney always had an eye for aesthetics. She attended the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York, graduating with a degree in graphic design. Needing an escape from the cold and sometimes unfriendly Northeast, Carney moved to New Orleans on a whim, picking up a hosting gig at Mondo. She then became a server at Herbsaint, where she met her future partner, Chef Marcus Jacobs.
Born and raised in Columbus, Ohio, Jacobs began washing dishes after dropping out of high school. He found a job at Alana’s Food & Wine, learning the basics of cooking and the value of using local ingredients. Two years later, Jacobs moved to Northern California and landed at the garden-to-table Restaurant 301 in Eureka before becoming a line cook at Zuni Café in San Francisco. Hoping to diversify his culinary skills, Jacobs embarked on a farm-exchange program in Southern Japan, then decided to move down to New Orleans. He was hired as a cook at Herbsaint and spent the next several years climbing his way up to executive sous chef.
For years, the couple dreamed of opening their own restaurant inspired by their yearly trips across Southeast Asia. After years of wok-fueled pop-ups under the name, The Sparklehorse Grill, in 2016, Carney and Jacobs self-funded and opened Marjie’s Grill. The concept marries Down South cooking with Southeast Asian flavors utilizing off-cuts of meat in an effort to be more accessible. In 2021, they launched their second concept, Seafood Sally’s, a “Pensacola beach paradise” in the Pigeon Town neighborhood. As owners, Carney and Jacobs are very intentional about staffing and growing people within their restaurants. Their concepts are ambitious, welcoming, and one hell of a good time.
