The Dragon’s Den has new owners. The iconic Frenchmen Street bar has been purchased by the owners of the Maison and Cafe Negril. The new owners plan to keep the Dragon’s Den open while renovating and updating the building.
Maison and Hi-Ho Lounge owners Brian Grenier and Jeff Bromberger teamed with Cafe Negril owner and Spotted Cat Music Club partner Bill Szarabajka on the purchase. Grenier said the trio were competitors at first, but quickly realized the best course of action would be to combine their efforts to purchase the Dragon’s Den.
The Dragon's Den is set for a revival under new ownership.
As both a business owner and a fan of unique New Orleans bars, Grenier said he has always had an appreciation for the charms of the Dragon’s Den. He plans on keeping the soul of the bar alive even as improvements are made.
“When I started as a promoter years and years ago, I used to throw a lot of shows at the Dragon’s Den, so I worked with them a lot in that capacity before I was a venue owner” he said. “It’s always been one of my favorite buildings in New Orleans. The opportunity presented itself for us to purchase it, and we jumped on it. I’ve always had my eye on it. I’ve always loved that place.”
The first order of business will be to update the facilities, with a fully functioning kitchen on the horizon at some point, Grenier said. Fixing the broken bathrooms is step one, though.
“It’s not going to be a fine dining facility, and we’re not looking to make it an upscale establishment,” Grenier said. “We all love what the Dragon’s Den is, and we want to keep it the Dragon’s Den, but we want to make it more hospitable and a nice place to be.”
When Grenier and Bromberger took over the Hi Ho, people were concerned that they would fundamentally change the dive bar feel that regulars had grown to love, but Grenier said what they have focused on instead is updating the Hi Ho to fit into its neighborhood more seamlessly. They plan to do the same with the Dragon’s Den.
“The Dragon’s Den has kind of fallen behind the times a little bit,” Grenier said. “Things on Frenchmen have changed, and the city has changed, and the way people throw events has changed, and the Dragon’s Den hasn’t really followed with that. We’re just going to try to update it and bring it up to the level where it needs to be.”
But dive bar fans can take comfort. The updates the new owners have on tap will not alter the low down and dirty soul of the bar.
“You can still be a dive bar and have working toilets and mop once a year,” Grenier said. “At the end of the day, it’s still going to be the Dragon’s Den we all know and love.”
