On Thursday morning, May 31, Ella Brennan, matriarch of New Orleans’ most renowned restaurant family, died at her Garden District home at age 92.

With her death, she leaves behind a family that owns and operates 14 restaurants in the New Orleans area and one each in Houston and Disneyland.

Born on Nov. 27, 1925, Ms. Brennan grew up in an Uptown New Orleans with an early exposure to cuisine from her father, who was known as an innovative cook. When she graduated from Eleanor McMain High School in 1943, she decided to forgo secretarial school and instead do clerical work at Old Absinthe House, a Bourbon Street bar owned by her brother Owen. She first started in the restaurant business in 1946, when her brother and father bought the Vieux Carré Restaurant at Bourbon and Bienville streets.

In handling day-to-day operations, she helped the restaurant prosper by translating the menu from French to English and adding traditional Creole dishes to the menu. After the restaurant’s lease expired, Owen Brennan found a new restaurant, which would be called Brennan’s. On Nov. 4 1955, Owen Brennan died unexpectedly of a heart attack, which left his family to run the establishment.

However, in 1969, Ms. Brennan and her sister Adelaide bought what would end up being the family’s most successful and reputable venture, Commander’s Palace. The restaurant, originally a fallback option from her being forced out of the Brennan’s, provided Ms. Brennan with an opportunity to make her way to the top as a restauranteur.

In the years following, Ms. Brennan was a leader in what has come to be known as the American cuisine movement, which emphasizes respect for local ingredients. Early on, she used Commander’s Palace as a shining example of this movement. As the respect and admiration for the restaurant grew on a national scale, hers did as well.

While Ms. Brennan’s day-to-day role at Commander’s diminished in her later years, she was always at an arm’s length from the operation. She and her sister lived next door and continued to consult on food and financial matters.

Surviving are her children, Ti Adelaide Martin and Alex Brennan-Martin; her sister, Dottie Brennan; and her two grandchildren. Funeral services will be private.