Mid-City Pizza Owner Buys Banks Street Bar & Grill

A neighborhood dive bar since 1959, Banks Street Bar & Grill has a new owner — Rand Owens, reports Todd A. Price at NOLA.com. Happily, Owens has only a few surface-level upgrades to make to the spot, meaning that the dive bar will definitely (probably) stay a dive. Banks Street Bar will close after this weekend, temporarily, for said improvements, and will reopen in a few weeks (or as much as a month.)

The bar’s facelift includes painting, bathroom renovations and a new bar top. The bar’s draft system — which has been broken since August — will be upgraded and have at least a dozen taps. Owens also plans some other upgrades, including adding to the whiskey selection and to the cocktail menu, and booking fewer shows per week — plus having a few nights a week for karaoke. Trilly Cheesesteaks will move into the bar’s kitchen.

Owens is also the owner of Mid-City Pizza, a beloved hipster pizza joint, which he started in the back kitchen of Banks Street Bar. Mid-City has since moved to its own, standalone location across the street from Banks Street Bar, with a second location Uptown.