As Summer Closes in On New Orleans, Restaurants Plan Pauses, Cut Hours

New Orleans experienced its hottest summer on record in 2023 and is again facing a similarly hotter-than-usual few months. That spells trouble for local restaurants — at a certain point last August, several businesses were forced to shut down temporarily due to unsafe conditions caused by extreme heat. Now, some restaurants are getting ahead of the annual summer slowdown by scaling back hours or shutting down entirely for the season. Could it become a new norm for this make-or-break time of year? Here is what’s happening with some of the businesses around town.

Kermit’s Treme Mother-in-Law Lounge

1500 North Claiborne Avenue

Acclaimed trumpeter Kermit Ruffins is cutting hours at his Treme bar and music venue, opening only on Tuesdays at 4 p.m. and on Saturdays at 6 p.m. for his weekly performance. Besides those two days, the bar will open for private events only all summer. “It’s been real slow,” said Ruffins on Facebook this week.

Wonderland + Sea

4842 Tchoupitoulas Street

Limited hours and a special events-based approach mark a pivot at Uptown’s Wonderland + Sea, a year-old, family-friendly restaurant specializing in fried chicken and fish sandwiches and picnic-style sides. What began as a full-blown summer closure has since evolved: In mid-May, the restaurant reduced its hours to serving dinner just two days a week. “Summer break” begins June 2, with co-owners Taylor Hoffman and Johnathan Rhodes writing, “We are taking the summer to refresh, renew, and recline.” Still, the plan is unclear, including potential guest chef appearances and experimentation with “new voices, concepts, and food.”

Saint John

1117 Decatur Street

Saint John, chef Eric Cook’s contemporary Creole restaurant, has served its last meal in the French Quarter. The decision came abruptly in late May, as announced on social media, with Cook citing a combination of factors like staffing shortages, lease rates, and revenue. Ultimately, however, it came down to the impending summer season. “We don’t have the legs or depth to survive another summer in New Orleans,” Cook told the Times-Picayune/New Orleans Advocate. Cook plans to reopen the restaurant in a new location in the fall, but says he can’t share full details yet. “This transition is our chance to let Saint John shine,” Cook said in the announcement.

There have been other high-profile restaurant closures recently, not directly attributed to summer’s imminent arrival. Palm Court Jazz Cafe closes its doors on June 2 after 35 years, citing rising costs; Casa Borrega, Central City’s groundbreaking hub for Mexican food, art, and music, has officially ended its 12-year run on Oretha Castle Haley Boulevard after its building sold; and the Green Room, a beloved 10-year-old Ukrainian kitchen born in the back of a St. Claude Avenue punk club, has served its last pierogi.

The timing likely isn’t coincidental, as it seems New Orleans’s inevitable summer tourism drop-off impacts more and more restaurants each year, forcing radical new approaches to business as usual.