Dew Drop Inn
Just a few miles from the bustling French Quarter, a cultural gem and historic New Orleans landmark has been revived, and if you’re visiting for the ESSENCE Festival of Culture, you can stay the night here. The newly opened (or reopened) Dew Drop Inn is a 17-room boutique hotel, restaurant, and entertainment venue, continuing a tradition that began in 1939.
Dew Drop Inn
Before integration, the Dew Drop Inn was a center of the civil rights movement and a haven for black performers on the chitlin’ circuit, including Aretha Franklin, James Brown and Etta James. What began as a barbershop owned and operated by Frank Pioneer transformed into a legendary hotel and music destination — where Little Richard first performed “Tutti Frutti,” forever changing the landscape of popular music.
The establishment was featured in the Green Book for Black Motorists and became a home for LGBTQ+ performers from the South, including Patsy Vidalia, New Orleans’ most famous drag performer in the 1950s, who produced one of the Dew Drop’s biggest events, the annual Halloween ball. White people came to see the spectacular show, but were arrested because racial mixing was illegal. In response, Pioneer, representing several bar owners, sued the city to desegregate all bars in New Orleans.
Dew Drop Inn
Desegregation in the 1970s and Pioneer’s death caused business to slow significantly, with only the hotel remaining open, but it couldn’t survive Hurricane Katrina and closed in 2005. But now, 65 years after it opened, the Dew Drop Inn is black-owned and thriving again, thanks to the vision of Curtis Doucette Jr., who purchased the property from Pioneer’s grandson in 2021.
Doucette intentionally recognized the ancestors and living legends who brought magic to the space. Each room in the hotel is named after a significant figure in Dew Drop Inn’s history and features a plaque explaining its connection. “Each room has a story, and you’re left wondering why this person is special,” Doucette says.
Dew Drop Inn
Some rooms honor famous people like Ray Charles, who lived there for a few months, while others honor local heroes like Irma Thomas, Allen Toussaint, A.P. Turow, and “Dutch” Morial. Turow and Morial are memorialized in the “Rights Room” as lawyers who challenged the city’s segregation laws on behalf of the establishment. Additionally, rooms and hallways are decorated with modern pieces by local artists and photographers.
While the hotel is deeply rooted in music history, it’s also celebrating its history as a party place with revamped event spaces. Two VIP suites overlook the stage, allowing guests to lounge in their pajamas and watch from above as some of New Orleans’ finest and visiting artists perform. “That’s probably one of the things that our guests love so much,” says Doucette. “They’re amazed when I show them in and open the door.”
Dew Drop Inn
It’s a unique and stylish way to experience the Dew Drop Inn’s live shows: since opening, international superstars such as Anderson Paak and Sun Ra Arkestra have graced its stage, while a robust events calendar also includes brass bands, burlesque, weekly DJ residencies, Afro-Cuban concerts, a Sunday Creole brunch and more.
Another perk is the pool, which offers an escape from the humid Louisiana heat; non-guests can enjoy day passes to the Haven Pool Club, where they can lounge, swim, and sip cocktails with friends. The restaurant’s menu, overseen by Doucette’s aunt, Marilyn Doucette, features New Orleans classics like red beans and rice and yacamein, as well as a variety of bar snacks like truffle fries.
Dew Drop Inn
The on-site museum is a marvel, designed to resemble Pioneer’s original barber shop and featuring black-and-white photographs of performers, old newspaper clippings, and listening stations where you can hear interviews with people who attended in their former heyday.
“I want people to feel proud,” Doucette said. “I want people to feel inspired and inspired.”
Dew Drop Inn
The sentiment “everyone is welcome” is forever etched on the hotel’s entrance wall and is at the core of The Dew Drop Inn’s past, present and future.
The ESSENCE Festival of Culture™ presented by Coca-Cola will take place in New Orleans from July 4-7. For more information and updates on the festival, please visit our website or follow us on social media @ESSENCEFest. XFacebook and Instagram.
