Muriel's Restaurant - New Orleans, LA (Table for Two Please)

801 Chartres St.

New Orleans, LA 70116

29.958349,-90.063107

www.muriels.com 

            One thing that makes New Orleans such a unique city is that they gleefully embrace their buildings that contain haunted activity, as opposed to shying away from making any mention of such nonsense. One such restaurant in the heart of the city is not only glad to talk about it, but they have made their resident ghost a part of the day to day operations. Next to Jackson Square, sits Muriel’s Restaurant, an excellent restaurant with some of the best food around. As I type this, my mouth is watering, thinking about their goat cheese crepes! As you walk in to Muriel’s you are immediately taken back by the décor, set to look just like an eighteenth or nineteenth century private residence. As the hostess leads you to your table, you may notice next to the staircase is an empty table set for two, with glasses of wine and pieces of bread. No, the patrons are not in the restroom with an eternal case of infinite diarrhea, as the guest that the table is set for is the resident ghost!
            To begin with the history of the restaurant is only scratching the surface. The land that the building sits on dates back to the founding of New Orleans in 1718, when it was given to a young French Canadian by the name of Claude Trepagnier. Claude played a huge role by assisting in the expedition that carved a clearing on the bank of the river that soon became known as Ville de la Nouvelle Orleans. Use your basic skills in the French language to assume what that translates to. To award Claude for his hard work in this momentous event, he was given a plot of land in the heart of the newly found area. By 1721, this area would grow rapidly, as the land began expanding along a grid system with a spot known as the Place de Armes, later being called Jackson Square, as the epicenter. It is rumored that during this time, the small home was used to temporarily house and catalogue slaves as they got off the boat before they were moved off to many of the local auction sites. With this particular area expanding quickly, Claude’s plot of land in the middle of all the action became quite a valuable and sought after piece of property.

            By the mid-1700’s the small little cottage began to look like a pimple on a supermodel’s nose; it was way out of place. The home and land was sold to a very wealthy gentleman named   Jean Baptiste Destrehan. He was the Royal Treasurer of French Louisiana Colonies. In other words, as my

Table set and eternally reserved for Mr. Jourdan.

dad often says, “He doesn’t have to eat toast bread and milk every night for supper!” Of course this humble abode would not suit the needs of such a top member of society. Destrehan quickly tore down the small cottage and, to match the rest of the square, built an extremely grand mansion to sit right next to the Governor’s Mansion.
            When Destrehan passed away in 1765, the house was passed down to his son and was eventually sold at an auction when the family fell into financial problems. In 1776, Pierre Phillipe de Marigny purchased the grand residence and used it as one of his city homes, even though he already had a huge plantation on the edge of the French Quarter. I guess when you have more money than you know what to do with, you can do such things!
            If you’ve been paying attention to our little New Orleans history lesson, can anyone guess what happens in 1788? In case you have an extreme flare up of attention deficit disorder, you will have assumed that much of the house was destroyed in the great fire. By the turn of the nineteenth century, the land and damaged home was sold to another wealthy member of the Marigny area, Mr. Pierre Antoine Lepardi Jourdan. He would refurbish the home to its former splendor and would live here with his family for the next several years. Although quite rich, Mr. Jourdan had a bad habit of

The Séance Lounge where Mr. Jourdan took his life.

gambling. On one tragic night in 1814, Mr. Jourdan, apparently on a winning streak, decided to go “all or nothing” and wagered the deed to his grand mansion in a card game. Well, as it is often said, “The house always wins in the end.” Mr. Jourdan lost the bet along with his beloved home. Stricken with utter shock and grief, now realizing that his family was homeless, he felt he had no other option than to walk upstairs to the area used as the slave quarters and committed suicide. This room is now ironically called the Séance Lounge.
            After the death of Mr. Jourdan, the home would eventually be purchased in 1823 by Julien Poydras, who was the President of the Louisiana State Senate and a Director of the Louisiana Bank. Only a year after purchasing it, Poydras would pass away, leaving the home to his wife and children who would live here until 1881. With the Civil War slowly making its presence known, the Poydras family would sell the mansion to Theodore Leveau. With the War coming into full swing, the home began to show its age. Leveau would sell the home in 1891 to local entrepreneur Peter Lipari, who would refurbish the home and turn it into several commercial buildings such as a restaurant and a bar called the Alec Lanlois Saloon.
            By 1916 the building was purchased by Frank Taormina and operated as a pasta factory and a grocery store on the first floor. Is it just me, or does it seem like there were a lot of pasta factories in New Orleans during this time? I guess with so many Italians in the area, the need for pasta was in

Photo of the building in 1939 when it was Taormina's Pasta
Factory and grocery store.

high demand! The building was eventually converted into a restaurant called The Spaghetti Factory. In 1974, the building became another dining establishment, the Chart House Restaurant. The first floor of the building was used for several years during the 1970's as the Heritage Hall and was home of the Heritage Hall Jazz Band.
            In 2001, the building was finally converted into present-day Muriel’s Restaurant. Today, the restaurant is eloquently decorated and its menu is phenomenal. As I mentioned earlier, a table is continuously set for the resident ghost. That ghost is none other than Mr. Pierre Antoine Lepardi Jourdan who killed himself in the Séance Lounge. He has been regularly seen in this portion of the restaurant and the upstairs hallway leading to the balcony area. Others feel that the spirits of long lost slaves that were corralled through the former building also contribute to the adequate amount of activity here. Eyewitnesses have seen objects move on their own along with strange light anomalies floating through the restaurant.
            I have been extremely fortunate to not only dine here on numerous occasions but to also conduct two full investigations of Muriel’s Restaurant. I cannot thank the gracious owners enough for allowing us to investigate once all of the guests and staff have left for the night. During the investigation, several investigators reported seeing unexplainable shadows, while simultaneously hearing disembodied voices nearby. However, the hot spot of the night seemed to radiate from the

Another view of the Séance Lounge.

infamous Séance Lounge, the site of Mr. Jourdan's demise. On numerous occasions, we heard very distinct knocks on the lounge’s brick wall. The knocks seemed to occur on demand, as they took place only when specific questions were asked by investigators. To hear the audio of the knock captured you can click here: (KNOCK 1) (KNOCK 2). During the knocking periods, several investigators reported seeing additional strange shadowed objects pass in the corner of their eyes. Evidence review produced no substantial video; however we did recover several interesting pieces of audio. On several occasion, we were able to capture the knocking sounds following questions being asked. In another interesting clip, the recording of a very distinct female voice saying, "Thank you" was obtained. There were no female investigators present at the time of the recording. Finally, while on the stairs, we captured what sounded like a strange moan.
            Muriel’s is a great place to go, not only for great food and a classy ambiance, but to also bring some added business to a great management staff. They have been very gracious to us over the years, while many owners of similarly top-notch establishments may have quickly turned their nose to the idea of a paranormal investigation. If you do visit here, pay close attention to that small table near the staircase. If you notice an elderly well-dressed gentleman sitting there, enjoying his bread and wine, you may want to inspect things further!