Another great little venue for music has been busted….again. Dumb. Dumb. Dumb.

Bacchanal, deep in the Bywater at 600 Poland Avenue, is officially a “wine and spirits” bar, but has hosted music for years—since Katrina—in addition to allowing chefs to cook outdoors for an ever-growing crowd of mostly locals. Music at Bacchanal was memorialized—as well as the outdoor chefery—in a couple of episodes of HBO’s Treme. Remember Jon Cleary playing and Janette Desautel cooking in a courtyard after her restaurant closed? That was Bacchanal. It’s a real place, for all you readers who don’t live in NOLA. The place is certainly beloved in the neighborhood.

Happier times at Bacchanal.

But apparently not by all, because last Friday evening at a packed house, the bar was raided by NOPD’s Quality of Life officers, the Fire Department, and Department of Health, citing problems with the place’s occupational license and numerous violations by the health department. And Bacchanal doesn’t have the requisite music license.

According to a report by Brett Anderson in today’s Times-Pic, the owner, Chris Rudge, plans to reopen the food service as soon as the health department issues can be addressed. Rudge also trudged down to City Hall to get an appropriate occupational license (Bacchanal was designated as a grocery store, rather than a bar).

So Bacchanal’s future is up in the air.

Now, I am not an investigative reporter; never claimed to be. I’m not impartial in this case. I’ve heard so many stories of little places that spring up, grow up from within a neighborhood, and become almost an anchor establishment that have been closed down after operating many years. I approach these issues from a love of the city’s cultural assets, and music and food are pretty prime in that area.

It makes me wonder: why aren’t these “violations” nipped in the bud over the past six years? Personally—and maybe I’m being paranoid here—I believe that someone, probably a neighbor who doesn’t like the noise, or who has another restaurant, has an axe to grind, and they make enough complaints against a successful place until someone at City Hall finally takes action.

Anderson’s piece quoted 26 separate violations by the Department of Health, mostly on cleanliness. So did someone just happen to notice this problem after six years of operation? I don’t believe it. I think that poor little Bacchanal has an enemy that’s trying to shut them down, for whatever reason.

I’m all for a hygienic restaurant, but, people: I have walked through restaurant kitchens in this town on my way to dine and have worked in them too, in a previous life. In fact, I’ve even inspected some kitchens (for pay), so I understand the process. I guarantee you that many, many of them wouldn’t pass a health department inspection, but they are still operating and going gangbusters. So why pick on Bacchanal?

But then, I’m not holding any grudge, I love local music and food, and believe in building neighborhood morale.

To Rudge’s credit, he’s trying to make the place legal. I encourage you to go over to Bacchanal, have a drink and some cheese and crackers (since food and music are currently not available), and demand local live music in the Bywater.