Dooky Chase’s Restaurant is known for its Creole cuisine, for traditions that span generations, and for its role in the Civil Rights Movement. Key moments in that history transpired in the upstairs dining room, a place where activists and allies could meet to strategize.
Now, a physical manifestation of that history has been brought back and given new life, all with an eye toward the present.
Starting in the 1950s, with the Civil Rights Movement gaining ground in New Orleans, Dooky Chase’s became a meeting place for activists and civic leaders, both Black and white. Such gatherings defied segregation laws. Groups packed into the upstairs dining room for planning sessions, while restaurant staff shuttled food up the narrow staircase.
The restaurant hosted and nourished, and it also provided a safe place for people to convene, a role it would continue over generations.
Through the courses of restaurant renovations over the years, the upstairs space fell out of regular use. A whole generation of people may have known stories of its significance without ever seeing it. But that has changed.
The Chase family collaborated with local artists including Ron Bechet and Ayo Scott to reimagine the space. It’s a private dining room for the restaurant, available for events and special dinners. But it might be the most community-minded of private dining rooms. It feels like an art installation and a storytelling tool as much as a hospitality venue.
It is rich with symbolism, starting with landmark civil rights achievements written on the steps rising to the room. A small video display at the entrance plays a short documentary. Murals line the walls, depicting meetings that happened here.
Mirrors positioned on the walls, with intent. Visitors can see themselves in the room, and at some angles at the table with faces from the past in the murals. It brings a powerful metaphor to life.
It’s about history, but also about people today seeing themselves in that room for the contributions they can make now, as the story of community keeps flowing through this landmark New Orleans restaurant.
