After many months we finally have our new look! We've had many, many compliments and a few not so complimentary comments since we painted the building. We have certainly caused a stir in the neighborhood!
Everyone loves this old building, we have people stop in often just to chat about it, some remember it from years ago, some are tourists who are curious and just think it's a neat building.
The building was constructed in 1853, and from what we understand, started it's life as a general store with living space upstairs. In 1899 it became the first oyster bar in New Orleans, by the name of Campangno's. The oyster bar occupied the downstairs and a restaurant up. We've heard that it later housed a bar room and flophouse. The original tile floor is still here and you can see where the bar ran across the floor. It's surprising to most who come in that the shop is so tiny, the size that you see from outside comes from the second floor, which overhangs the sidewalks on all sides. It's a West Indies style building and originally all the shutters, which make up the walls on the second floor, were operational.
We decided to stay true to the West Indies style and picked a color pallet in keeping with it's architecture. We've used seven different colors and tried to keep it lively without going completely over the top.
Just before Christmas 2008, the most wonderful thing happened for the history nuts on the premises. A long time customer, Jean Cranmer Rue appeared with a copy of what we believe to be a late 19th century photo of the building. See the differences in the before and after!!
