Ever wonder where civil rights leaders strategized over bowls of gumbo? That place is Dooky Chase’s Restaurant. Dooky Chase’s opened in 1941. It began as a sandwich shop and lottery ticket outlet. Emily and Dooky Chase, Sr., founded it. It soon became a bar and family restaurant in Tremé.
Dooky Chase’s became a meeting place. It welcomed music, entertainment, civil rights discussions and culture. By 1944, Dooky Chase, Jr., was known for his band. At sixteen, he led a sixteen-piece jazz band. His band was called the most progressive in the South. At nineteen, he promoted the first racially integrated concert at the Municipal Auditorium.
Before the Supreme Court reversed Plessy v. Ferguson, Dooky Chase’s was a hot spot. People discussed civil and economic rights here. Thurgood Marshall and local attorneys gathered here. They propelled civil rights in the courts and on the streets. In the 1960s, Martin Luther King, Jr., joined local leaders. They held strategy sessions over meals at Dooky’s.
Labor unions also frequented Dooky Chase’s. Black workers cashed their paychecks here. Dooky’s bar was packed on Friday nights. Beer, whiskey, and wine flowed freely.
In 1946, Dooky Chase, Jr., married Leah Lange Chase. Leah transformed the bar into a sit-down restaurant. It featured African-American art and Creole cooking. Leah became known as the Queen of Creole Cuisine. Dooky Chase’s was the first art gallery for black artists in New Orleans.
After Hurricane Katrina, Dooky’s closed for two years to rebuild. Today, Dooky Chase’s remains family-owned. It is the premier restaurant for authentic Creole Cuisine. The Chase family serves regular customers, tourists, and locals. Politicians, musicians, artists, and writers visit. Beyoncé, Jay-Z, Quincy Jones, and Barack Obama have dined here.
Ray Charles even wrote about Dooky Chase’s in his version of “Early in the Morning”. Bob Dylan endorsed Dooky Chase’s Restaurant on social media in 2024. He recommended it to anyone visiting New Orleans.
Leah Chase believed food builds bridges. She said you can learn from someone if you eat with them. Big changes can happen when people learn from each other. The restaurant changed the course of America over bowls of gumbo.
Dooky Chase’s open door policy served history makers. It was a safe place for blacks and whites to meet and eat. Martin Luther King and the Freedom Riders planned events here. Leah Chase contributed to the Voting Rights Act of 1965. She also contributed to the Civil Rights Act of 1968.
Leah Chase cooked in Dooky Chase’s kitchen for 62 years. She was the inspiration for Princess Tiana in “The Princess and the Frog”. Dooky Chase’s made history as one of the first African-American fine-dining restaurants.