NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) — A popular restaurant and bar that has been around for decades in the Marigny is on the brink of closing.
Buffa’s bar and restaurant first opened on Esplanade Avenue in 1939. Since then, there has been a handful of owners, and the current ones hope the cost of running a business doesn’t cost them their business.
Buffa’s is among the establishments experiencing that summertime slump, but owner Chuck Rogers fears this may be their last summer in operation.
“We have rent, we have employees, we have utilities, and we have our cost of goods,” Rogers said. “Something isn’t going to get paid with sales the way they are.”
According to Rogers, the landlords of the building already went down on rent, and they’re not interested in reducing it anymore.
The owner also says inflation is driving their customers elsewhere.
“They either get delivery, or they go through a drive-thru, or because things are more expensive, they don’t go out as much,” Rogers said. “And when they do go out, they’re choosing a more upscale dining experience than what we provide.”
As the news of a possible closure spread, some of Buffa’s most loyal customers filled the restaurant Monday.
“It’s very comfortable here,” customer Renee Helire said. “This was sort of like our living room where we could all come and meet and hang out, eat, drink. There’s live music.”
Rogers said he and his family are hoping this momentum they’re experiencing continues, so they don’t have to imagine a life without Buffa’s.
“My grandkids don’t know anything except this, in terms of what we do as a family,” Rogers explained. “I just, like any other business, want to get through.”
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