About the Columbia Café Restaurant

With slight restaurant experience, but incredible business acumen, Matthew Linn found himself looking at a condemned property during the latter part of the 1990s in the historic Highland District that sits atop one acre of prime real estate. The purchase was a breeze, but the arduous gut renovation required almost eight years and $1 million. Initially the investment seemed daunting, but given his attention to detail and brilliant work ethic, Matthew focused on the bigger picture and slowly but certainly the uneasiness dissipated and Matthew Linn now finds himself at the helm of one of chicest hot spots in this hip downtown neighborhood.

The four-year-old restaurant, which is outfitted with antique furnishings and interchangeable local art, features multiple rooms that have been used for celebrity private dining as well as for sealing corporate and political deals. Columbia Café grows its own herbs in its outdoor garden, which are infused into its seasonal menus. On autumn nights, patrons can dine alfresco at tables built from a fallen 200-year-old Pin Oak tree, crafted from Matthew’s own hands.

It’s these kinds of personalized details that make Columbia Café special and why the restaurant is fast becoming hip place in Highland, Shreveport.