Dooky Chase’s Restaurant, one of New Orleans’ most beloved and legendary places to eat, added a new chapter to its history this week. On January 6, the Chase family debuted the long-awaited revamp of the restaurant’s upstairs dining room, a space that played an important role in the Civil Rights movement.

 

A New Orleans Icon

Opened in 1941 by Edgar “Dooky” Chase in the Treme neighborhood, the restaurant gained national attention after Edgar married Leah Chase, a talented Creole chef who elevated the food and atmosphere into an award-winning dining destination that was as welcoming to its neighbors as it was to the celebrities, artists, and politicians who sat down for a bowl of her famous gumbo over the years.

In the 1950s and 60s, activists (like the Freedom Riders, who challenged segregation laws) and national and local leaders met in this small room to discuss civil and economic rights for Black Americans. Separated from the main dining area by a flight of stairs, it was one of the only gathering places for activists of all races to gather, which was against the law at the time. At the reopening event, Tracie Haydel Griffin, a granddaughter of Leah Chase, told the Times-Picayune, “It’s the smallest footprint with the largest legacy.”

 

Remembering The Past

Over time, the second floor was closed to the public. Edgar and Leah’s son Edgar Chase III led the push to turn it into a space that would honor the restaurant’s history. Although he passed away in February 2024, his vision is now complete.

The revamped room showcases work by local artists Ayo Scott and Ron Bechet, including a mural of late Chase family members (including Edgar III and Leah) and one that depicts an imagined scene of the dining room during the Civil Rights movement. A small video installation shares history from that era, and even the stairs leading up to the room are painted with Civil Rights Acts that were passed. Leah’s lifelong passion for visual art has long been evident in the main dining room, and now it extends to the upper room as well.

 

How The Murals Were Made

This video, by Gian Smith and Cierra Johnson, shows the behind-the-scenes process of how the murals were made, and the thought that went into each detail. In interviews, Bechet and Scott share how spending time at Dooky Chase’s around Leah’s collection sparked their interest in art.

A Fitting Tribute

“It’s a homage not a memorial,” says Southern Living contributor and author Jessica B. Harris, who visited the space for the first time after decades of eating at Dooky Chase’s. “It just feels uplifting and encompassing.” Harris noted one special detail: there is a mirror placed within the mural of the dining room that “places” diners in the space as well. “The redo is beautiful and inclusive in all the ways we should be these days,” Harris says.