Almost twenty years ago, on Oct. 7th, 2006, the Hi-Ho Lounge reopened after a long, devastating closure following Hurricane Katrina.
"According to the club’s new owners, in the days following Katrina the ground-level Hi-Ho Lounge flooded with about eight inches of water. The building sat vacant until April 2006 when Ohio-transplant John Barrett bought it from the original owners and resolved to get the corner back into action. Together, Barrett and his business partner John Hartsock executed the renovations," says a 2006 article from the Loyola Maroon about the reopening.
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On September 22nd, 2026, after closing its doors on Halloween day, 2024, and transitioning to different management, a different look, and a different name, the Hi-Ho Lounge announced, again, an early October return to the corner of Marigny Street and St. Claude Avenue.
“Hi-Ho Lounge is coming back to St. Claude. We’re bringing back the name, the music, the late nights, and the neighborhood spirit that made this room what it was – while making space for a new chapter… A place for locals, live music, cold drinks, old friends, and new ones. Come as you are, stay a while. We’ll meet you at the back of the bar," the club posted on Instagram.
Our partners at NOLA.com report that while the Hi-Ho Lounge is returning to its former name, it won't be under former ownership. However, new owners Mike Davis and Melissa Politte seem intent on recapturing a similar neighborhood orientation built on local acts, cheap drinks, and a laidback atmosphere.
The club has already announced plans to bring back longstanding staples like red-beans-and-rice-Mondays and plans to prioritize booking local brass music and other acts long-associated with the Hi-Ho, like DJ Soul Sister's HUSTLE! party. But how far new ownership will go to mirror the Hi-Ho of old will be a question only answered with time.
For example, many lamented the new ownership's decision to paint over the building's old edifice, which featured the spaceship cats, pink-haired lady, and flock of green monk parakeets (the latter put up by renowned stencil street artist, Jeremy Novy, known most famously for the neighborhood street paintings of the Koi Carp).
Responding to comments on Instagram from those who expressed sorrow over the loss of the old murals, the new owners responded with, “…you never know what might make a comeback…”
The next iteration of the Hi-Ho Lounge plans to kick off its first event on September 25th, following New Orleans' Dolly Day Parade (9/25), which will double as a benefit for the Krewe of Dolly and Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library.
The Hi-Ho Lounge will officially return on starting Thursday, Oct 1st, 2026.
