Mimi’s store front. Photo by Bethany Rogers.
Mimi’s in the Marigny, a late 19th century homestead bank building, grandly towers over the intersection of Franklin and Royal streets. The building is much of what makes the bar so special with its iron galleries, French doors, arched windows, and exposed brick, but regulars also attribute the refreshing ambiance of this neighborhood bar to Mimi’s accommodating sense of hospitality and the intriguing array of Marigny and Bywater residents that work and gather there.
Mimi patiently waited for the right space and neighborhood to set up her business, but once she opened the doors to her two-tiered corner bar in the fall of 2002, she committed herself to the social life of the Marigny and Bywater in such an involved way that it seems like Mimi’s has had a much longer life. The bar is a featured stop in a number of parade events, like the 6t’9 Halloween parade, the Downtown Irish Club Saint Patrick’s parade, Saint Ann’s Mardi Gras day parade, and Mimi’s own Krewe T’ Skrew parade (started with friend Chris Rudge). Mimi’s is also a real community artistic and civic hot spot, hosting events that range from live music performances to DJ parties to visual art shows to book readings to neighborhood planning meetings.
View from the bar. Photo by Bethany Rogers.
