Picture courtesy of Turtle Bay. Christopher and Joanna Gargiule will be bartending their last shifts at the Chart Room and Turtle Bay, respectively, after more than a decade of faithful service to French Quarter denizens before heading out of state.
Monday night (tonight) is Christopher’s last bartending shift at the Chart Room, where he has been a mainstay at the Chartres Street establishment for years. If you don’t get this message in time and missed seeing face, you’ll still have a chance to give Joanna a send-off Tuesday night at the Turtle Bay on Decatur Street.
UPDATE 7/14/23: Christopher will be bartending his last shift at Harry’s Corner Bar at 900 Chartres St. on Saturday afternoon. Make sure to show up.
After closing out what will be the final shifts, Christopher and Joanna, and their family will be moving on to greener pastures and sandier beaches, where they will be united with friends.
I had the pleasure of working with Joanna at the Turtle Bay, where she mentored and trained me on all the establishment specifics of working behind the bar. I wasn’t the only one, of course. It wasn’t just about knowing how to make cocktails or pour beers, but how to provide great customer service.
So if you live in town, or just visiting, drop by and say hello — and good-bye — before it’s too late, and be sure to give the Gargiules a nice send-off with lots of tips.
Joanna got back to us, but wasn’t able to offer a comment because they are busy getting squared away for the move — totally understandable.
Turtle Bay is located at 1119 Decatur St. and the Chart Room is located at 300 Chartres St. — both in the French Quarter.
A second line funeral just doesn’t seem special enough for a soul who was friend to so many people. To remember the life Erin Churchill, Molly’s Irish Bar and the Dive Bar on Toulouse Street are hosting a memorial event for Erin from 4 to 6 p.m. tonight — although there’s nothing stopping you from carrying on the celebration into the night (and we hope that you do). Food will be available for those who attend.
Erin was born the day before Halloween in 1964 and the holiday was her absolute favorite day of the year. She was also a supporter of The Quarter Rat. Erin passed away on May 21 at 58 years old after a battle with cancer. Erin’s obituary is posted on schoenfh.com. We’re going to miss her a whole helluva lot.
As the owner of Molly’s Irish Bar on Toulouse Street, every year they hosted the local’s favorite Halloween party.
So what does a French Quarter Irish Bar do to celebrate the passing of our favorite person? An Irish Halloween Wake Block Party. The Superdome wasn’t available, unfortunately, and we were denied a block party permit due to Toulouse Street being a busy street, and it’s a Sunday. That doesn’t this event won’t be special.
Costume summertime appropriate and optional, but HIGHLY ENCOURAGED. Bring your trick-or-treat bags. We are trying to keep everyone together and cool as possible! So much love too everyone! We’ll see you there.
If you walked into Molly’s on Toulouse and thought that boasting “I’m friends with the owner” would give you any clout, you would be met with four out of five patrons raising their hands and saying, “Us too. What’s your point?”
The passing of Erin Churchill is devastating to so many people that she has touched over the years. Even as a casual acquaintance with Erin, you knew how much of an exceptional person she was. For those of us with a close relationship with her, it is deep personal loss.
It’s a great loss to the French Quarter, a successful business person and a wonderful soul is gone. I could write a thousand words praising her qualities, but they all would fall short of describing her remarkable character.
We are all fortunate to have even known her, we are better people for having done so. There will forever be a void in our lives and in The French Quarter without Erin Churchill.
Our latest Quarter Rat Newspaper is our 7th issue in the past year. There were times we had editorial discussions asking ourselves if we were crossing any lines. Nope, we pretty much ran with every stupid juvenile idea we came up with. Brains on Bourbon Street, celebrity gossip, porn for hobos, accusing the First Lady of France of being a shape-shifting reptilian, mouth to ass recipes and page 3 girls with ample cleavage. Add to it Jay Slusher’s true stories that read like Tarantino scripts rejected for excessive violence.
A Mardi Gras issue is a must for us, but they are so boring. We locals don’t want to read about the time of the year we dread the most. Quarter Rats drink to forget Mardi Gras. We all know the history, the krewes and traditions. Parade routes can be found anywhere online so why waste the newsprint.
We figured if anyone was going to bitch about anything, it would be about our “FUCK MARDI GRAS” headline. That’s like a newspaper in Rome running the headline “FUCK THE POPE.” Some sacred things can trigger zealot outrage if disrespected. Over the past year and all the shit we have printed, the only negative feedback so far has been Issa’s centerfold in this February issue.
Really? This is The French Quarter, correct? Technically, she isn’t even nude. She could wear that to the beach if she wanted some amusing tan lines. We all walked past “Nipple Glitter” stands on our way to work this season, but a Vargas like pool table pose is too much for some Quarter Rats sensibilities? Most all of you loved it and were proud of Issa. One of her co-workers commented to me: “I am impressed by her being so comfortable with herself and the don’t give a fuck attitude.”
So are we, that’s why she is part of our QR team. After she contributed her hilarious deadbeat Nicolas Cage story, this paper knew it needed her to contribute more. This issue was just a quick 8-page issue just to say we did it. For the FUCK MARDI GRAS issue, a middle finger and titties seemed like a great cover idea, let’s ask Issa.
No one has directed negative comments to the editorial staff of this fine publication, instead they were directed personally at her. That pissed me off. Issa is like a daughter to me, Ok, a stepdaughter. Maybe more like a cute stepdaughter in a Florida trailer park kind of way. We all love her and let her be her.
One person said to her: “Why did you do this? You must have been manipulated or coerced into doing it.” A real insult to any person, especially her. That statement implies weakness and a lack of self-agency on her part.
She was asked a week prior to the shoot and could have backed out at any time. As we shot the photos, she reviewed every one and gave feedback. Her boyfriend was there. Issa got to approve the final layout prior to being sent off to the printer. The readers I ran into who saw it cheered for her.
One of you fucks actually commented to her about a “double chin.” I’m sure the one who made the comment is a chiseled like a sculpture. What a dickhead thing to say. It’s socially unacceptable to say to a woman “Nice tits” but it is somehow socially Ok to say, “Nice chins?” Go back, apologize to her and buy her a shot.
No man has the right to tell a woman what she can or can’t do with her own body! Only a woman is allowed to tell another woman what she can do with her body.
If you are a 300-plus pound feminist with a shaved head objecting to a sexualized woman, I get it. If you are a male feminist objecting to it, you probably have never even touched boobies. Wait until your balls drop then comment.
We didn’t have a misleading headline with no hint as to the content. Big words above the fold “OUR VERY FIRST CENTERFOLD ISSA!!” Only after you unfolded the paper did you see electrical tape over her nipples. If that was too shocking for you then proceeding to the centerfold was probably a poor decision on your part.
The actual centerfold was totally absurd. A parody of sorts. Did we do the cliche’ accompanying text of: “This hot European import is Issa. Her turn-ons are Harry Potter and puppies.” No. Our centerfold was cluttered with Steve Buscemi trivia and a 9/11 reference. What kind of a fucked-up publication would print such dumb-ass shit?
Oh wait, yea.
Her body, her choice. Picking up the paper, your choice.
Did the Banks Street Bar new owner really fire every employee? Sounds like it. That sucks, but there are plenty of other jobs out there. Good luck to you all.
“The new owner is an asshole!” Well, ok. That happens sometimes, sounds like a bit of fortune being put into a position to have to move onto better things. Lots of good employers out there looking for good help.
“He lives in a mansion and pays his employees shit!” Ok, another reason to move on. If he has difficulty keeping good staff, he will have no choice but to increase wages. Supply and demand apply to human resources as well.
The business was sold and the new owner decided to clean house and start with fresh staff. Sometimes it’s easier to start with new staff and reorganize than trying to correct issues. Is it a mistake? Time will tell. His money, his choice.
Most employers would rather hire someone with little or no experience and train them in how to do things than hire someone with “years of experience.” If you buy a business, the old staff will be reluctant to any changes, falling back on: “But this is how we always do it.”
An inexperienced applicant with a good attitude will more likely get the position than the industry veteran who is sure that he knows how everything should be run. Perhaps the new owner has a slightly higher standard of performance than the previous.
Someone who buys an established business is purchasing the name, location, equipment and the like. They are not buying the staff. The last I checked the buying and selling of workers was illegal in most states.
Sorry you are looking for a new job. You are not entitled to that job or any other. Their business, their choice of who to employ. Every job is just a contract. “You do this, I’ll pay you that.” Either one of you break the terms of the contract, the other can walk away.
I’m laughing at the comments on social media. I can picture all of them as co-workers. The ones who make it a point to take a shit on company time and boast about it. “I got one over on the boss! 20 minutes on the bowl playing with my phone.” While your co-workers had to pick up the slack. So much for the worker’s collective.
We’ve all worked with such people. Those who steal from the boss and justify it with, “He doesn’t pay me what I am worth.” Those who spit in customers’ food and back-stab co-workers at the drop of a hat. Often, it’s easier to just tear down and build new than to try repairing what’s there.
An employer owes you nothing more than the agreed upon pay on schedule.
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