Hurricane Gustav Claims A Victim

I have a friend in New Orleans who lives 2.5 blocks from The Saturn Bar. He is a very lucky friend. Though I'm no world traveler, I can say with a fair degree of confidence that The Saturn Bar is the coolest bar on the planet. If you're a fan of rock & roll, flea markets, cats, having your car broken-into, outsider art or, as the Saturn Bar calendar reads "a large selection of imported beers," you really must go.

So, this friend of mine called me earlier this week, after returning from the Gustav evacuation to tell me there was a fairly serious fire at the Saturn Bar. My heart sank. It seems that when the owners returned after Gustav and flicked on the Saturn Bar's famous neon lights (see pic at left) there was an electrical short that caused the fire. I don't know the extent of the damage, but I'm told the owners have hope to reopen in a month or so.

The Saturn Bar has been down, but not out, before. Located near the 9th Ward, the bar sufered no major flooding after Katrina, but was without power for weeks. And then, in December 2005, before the Saturn Bar had even reopened, its long-time owner O'Neil Broyard, passed away from a heart attack.

Childless, O'Neil willed the bar to his nephew, who vowed to reopen within months. He made good on his promise and the Saturn Bar was back in business by spring 2006. Since then the Saturn Bar has really thrived. It's cleaner than it's been in years (but not too clean) and has become a destination venue for live music in New Orleans.

Godspeed, Saturn Bar. Here's hoping everyone there is back on their feet soon.