In First Week of 2021, New Orleans Loses Acclaimed Restaurant and Beloved Jazz Club

On Monday, January 11, chef and owner of acclaimed Uptown bistro Carrollton Market Jason Goodenough publicly posted his decision to close the restaurant permanently, joining a number of other beloved New Orleans businesses to announce similar fates in the early days of 2021.

In the post, tagged with “#timetomoveon,” Goodenough said that the decision to close was not a financial one, but rather because “his passion for the craft has turned to apathy and my love of serving people has turned into disdain for them.” He went on to say he may sell the building and business itself or keep the building and rent the space. It garnered nearly 100 comments from patrons expressing sadness and fellow business owners offering support and understanding.

The upscale bistro opened on a quiet Uptown street in 2014, and Goodenough quickly earned praise for refined Southern and Creole dishes using more cutting-edge techniques than was common among its peers at the time. The small cottage became a special occasion and date night destination, almost always booked full on weekends. Due to its small size, Goodenough kept Carrollton Market’s dining room closed throughout the pandemic, offering a changing menu of takeout family meals. Last month, Goodenough gained praise after sharing an exchange he had with a takeout customer, who said that despite the meal being delicious, would never again patronize the restaurant due to the “Black Lives Matter” sign hanging in the restaurant’s window. Goodenough responded by pledging to donate the total dollar amount the customer had spent at the restaurant over the years, matched with his own funds, to BLM-aligned nonprofits in the person’s name.

Carrollton Market is already the second significant closure to hit New Orleans in the new year, with Julius Kimbrough Sr. confirming late last week that his longtime Prime Example Jazz Club would not return. Located on the edge of the Seventh Ward and Gentilly, the intimate Broad Street venue was one of the city’s last destinations for jazz, one where musicians were often part of the audience. With indoor live music on hold since the start of the pandemic, Kimbrough told NOLA.com that he “couldn’t hold on forever,” but also cited his age and readiness to retire. He has sold the bar, he said, and while new proprietors may reopen the space as a bar, it won’t be the Prime Example. The club joins a handful of local music venues closed or placed on sale since the beginning of the pandemic, including d.b.a, Gasa Gasa, Circle Bar, and Saturn Bar.

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• The Prime Example, one of New Orleans’ only modern jazz venues, has closed permanently [NOLA.COM]
• The Latest New Orleans Restaurant and Bar Closings of 2020 [ENOLA]