Johnny White’s, Legendary Bourbon Street ‘Bar That Never Closes,’ Closes for Good

Johnny White’s Corner Pub, the Bourbon Street dive bar loved by locals and famous for staying open through Hurricane Katrina, has closed its doors permanently. According to NOLA.com’s Keith Spera, the White family is close to finalizing the sale of the building at 718 - 720 Bourbon, also home to Johnny White’s Hole in the Wall and Johnny White’s Pub & Grill (closed as well).

Current owner and proprietor Jeaneen White told the newspaper the deal has been in the works “since late last year,” but that the stay-at-home order sped up the closures. White said she doesn’t know what the buyer, who is from out of town, plans to do with the building.

Johnny White bought the building in 1988, opening the 24/7 bar a year later as a second location of the original Johnny White’s Bar on St. Peter Street, which he opened in 1969. It became legendary for remaining open during Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath in 2005, earning the claim to call itself “the bar that never closes.” In 2012, it was rebranded as Johnny White’s Corner Pub and ditched 24/7 hours when White’s heirs took the reigns. Throughout the years and changes, it’s been a rare Bourbon Street destination for locals and a favorite with the service industry. (It was also known as a Washington Redskins bar thanks to a longtime bartender.)

The White family stills run the original Johnny White’s Bar at 733 St. Peter Street, which will reopen when New Orleans bars are allowed to operate. For a thorough accounting of the bar’s colorful history, see Spera’s NOLA.com report.

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