(Photo: Dave Minsky | CC Flickr)
Fahy’s Irish Pub, located at 540 Burgundy St., will be closed Saturday, Dec. 5 for maintenance, the bar announced Friday on social media.
It’s the second day of a two-day closure, although the bar reopens Sunday, Dec. 6 in time for the Saints (9-2) v. Falcons (4-7) game, which starts at 1 p.m. EST, or 12 p.m. CST, in Atlanta.
(Photo: Callie Reed | CC Flickr)
The Golden Lantern Bar, located at 1239 Royal St., has established a GoFundMe page to raise money as it struggles to avoid permanent shutdown due to the COVID-19 business restrictions.
The bar was forced to shutter entirely following coronavirus-related bar closures and the New Orleans city ban on to-go alcohol.
The bar weathered the initial storm, receiving a PPP loan, but only kept the establishment afloat for two and a half months. Much of the funds were spent on making the bar safer for patrons, including the purchases of thermometers, sanitizing stations and other items, according to the bar.
The GoFundMe, which was created on Aug. 12, has raised more than $7,300 out of a $60,000 goal.
Despite the Golden Lantern’s closure, bills still must be paid.
Opening in 1964, the gay-friendly Golden Lantern was the original home of Southern Decadence, according to the bar.
“The reality is, the bills (rent, insurance, utilities, taxes, etc) continue to pour in. Despite being closed, Entergy and SWBNO bills are somehow much higher than usual. Without income or additional resources available, The Golden Lantern is struggling to keep its head above water. With expenses over $20,000+ a month and no income expected any time soon, options are running out.”
Golden Lantern Bar
To donate, visit Golden Lantern Bar’s GoFundMe page.
Betty’s Bar and Bistro, formerly 700 Club, closes permanently due to COVID-19 restrictions
(Photo: Dave Minsky)
The Original Johnny White’s Bar, located at 733 St. Peter Street, has closed permanently.
Two sources, including a longtime employee, have independently confirmed to The Quarter Rat on Tuesday that the bar is not reopening after shutting down in March due to COVID-19 restrictions.
According to one longtime bartender, the business’s four owners had been paying rent since closing due to the coronavirus pandemic and cut their losses, rather than pay roughly $60,000 more in rent for the next six months.
Johnny White’s was a popular sports bar in the heart of the French Quarter that was open 24 hours a day and a local watering hole for service industry workers. The bar had been in operation for decades.
State business records show the bar’s owners listed as Jeaneen M. White and Shannon White Diecidue.
The Original Johnny White’s closure comes more than three months Johnny White’s Pub and Grill and its associated businesses, located from 718 to 729 Bourbon St., shut down in May.
This is a developing story and will be updated when more information is received.
To contact The Quarter Rat regarding this story, email dave@thequarterrat.com.
BREAKING: All three Bourbon Street Johnny White’s locations close permanently
A Bourbon Street nightclub on Monday sued its insurance company for alleged breach of contract after a claim for damages caused by a forced shutdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic was denied.
Bourbon Pub Parade, located at 801 Bourbon St., sued Nautilus Insurance for breach of contract after the company denied to cover a claim for ongoing damages caused by a city order ceasing business operations to prevent coronavirus spread, according to a federal lawsuit filed on May 4.
New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell issued a March 16 proclamation ordering certain businesses, including bars, to close as a measure to prevent the spread of coronavirus. This includes the vast majority of businesses in the French Quarter, which relies heavily on tourism income.
While the actual economic impact from the business closures has yet to be fully quantified, tourists in New Orleans spent $9.1 billion in 2018, with much of it driven by leisure- and work-related travel, according to the city’s Tourism Marketing Corporation.
French Quarter Festival, Satchmo Summerfest canceled due to COVID-19
“The damages [Bourbon Pub Parade] has sustained were not ’caused by or resulting from’ COVID-19,” the lawsuit states. “Rather, the proximate cause of…losses were the precautionary measures taken by the mayor of New Orleans and the Louisiana governor to prevent spread of COVID-19 in the future.”
The insurance purchased by Bourbon Pub Parade included an “all-risk” policy that provided coverage for all risks, unless the risk was specifically excluded, according to the lawsuit, adding that the policy includes coverage for business interruption, extra expense, civil authority and extended business income.
While the policy doesn’t provide an exclusion for losses stemming from a pandemic, it does exclude losses “caused by or resulting from any virus, bacterium or other microorganism that induces or is capable of inducing physical distress, illness or disease,” according to the lawsuit.
Nautilus denied the insurance claim on two grounds: first, that the bar and surrounding property didn’t suffer any physical damage; and second, the policy’s virus and bacteria exclusion.
Bourbon Pub Parade, however, said Nautilus’ reasons are erroneous because of the impact coronavirus is having on physical spaces throughout the world.
Citing coronavirus studies, the bar said contaminated surfaces could serve as a potential source of transmission.
“Based on what is understood about the way COVID-19 is transmitted, it is clear that the insured premises and surrounding areas have sustained direct physical losses within the meaning of the policy,” said Bourbon Pub Parade.
Additionally, the bar said losses aren’t directly attributed to coronavirus, but Cantrell’s order forcing it to close.
In the lawsuit, Bourbon Pub Parade requests a jury trial and class-action certification, which could involve other plaintiffs that are denied similar claims.
Read the lawsuit below:
Bourbon-Pub-Parade
A French Quarter upscale hotel wants you to know that it has a new look.
On Thursday, The Westin New Orleans announced that it completed an expansive, and expensive, revitalization effort that spanned the entire hotel.
The $30 million dollar redesign added a total of 30,000 square feet across 18 rooms on the property.
Hotel developers worked with Canadian firm Moncur Design Associates, which incorporated some of the local aesthetic to include the city’s history, culture, architecture and natural elements like southern oaks with hanging moss.
Three new additions include a new bar restaurant and ballroom.
All three — Observatory Eleven, Bistro at the Bend and Riverbend Ballroom — are all located on the 11th floor of the hotel and overlook the Mississippi River.
Observatory Eleven is a circular bar and includes approximately 2,3000 square feet of space. Dan Levy runs the drinks program at the bar.
Chef Daniel Mills, formerly of The Roosevelt New Orleans hotel, runs Bistro at the Bend. Some of his signature dishes include blue crab beignets, Gulf Coast au gratin, blackened scallops and pimento cheese arancini. The restaurant seats 104 people.
The ballroom is 4,200 square feet and holds 280 people.
The hotel, which rises to 19 floors and includes 462 rooms, is located at 100 Iberville Street near Canal Place.
The Westin is a hotel chain owned by Marriott International, which is headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland.
