Welcome to Junebug—a vibrant new eating bar, restaurant, and personal occasion area from Neighborhood Restaurant Group, now open in Downtown New Orleans.
Photographs by Randy Schmidt
Formally debuting on March 20, Junebug blends daring flavors, late-night vibes, and immersive design in a historic setting that when housed the legendary Jazz Metropolis Studio—the place icons like Cosimo Matassa, Allen Toussaint, and The Meters helped form the sound of funk within the Nineteen Seventies.
At Junebug, Government Chef Shannon Bingham places a recent spin on Southern cooking, mixing regional substances with basic French method and a daring sense of stability. The menu is constructed for nonetheless you prefer to dine—whether or not you’re sharing snacks and small plates on the bar or settling in for a full meal within the eating room or lounge. Specials rotate often, from uncooked bar picks and steak for 2 to caviar service and a late-night menu that retains the kitchen buzzing after hours.
Junebug’s beverage program, led by Bar Supervisor and Assistant GM Sophie Burton, is fruit-forward, playful, and expertly crafted. The cocktail menu is cut up into three inventive classes:
- Home Cocktails: A-Aspect and B-Aspect riffs—two drinks with comparable taste profiles however totally different spins
- Play the Samples: Single-shot cocktails
- Classics: Timeless favorites from New Orleans and past
Brandy and eaux de vie take heart stage, with featured flights from prime producers like Etter and Clear Creek. The wine listing is approachable, sustainable, and curated with meals pairings in thoughts. Beer lovers will discover a considerate mixture of native and worldwide craft brews, together with a particular concentrate on Lambics from Brussels and crisp lagers poured from side-pull faucets. Rounding it out are strong non-alcoholic choices and after-dinner drinks to go well with each temper.
Signature cocktails embody
- Transfer the Crowd: a savory Whiskey Highball various made with Etter Pear Brandy, Iwai Mars Whiskey, and Home Preserved Meyer Lemon Soda
- Dry Spell: a Negroni that includes tender plum and wine made with Yebiga Bela Plum Brandy, Picon Vasco, Dolin Blanc Vermouth, Lemon and Orange Oil
- Kiss Me Now!: a Cosmo with a little bit of physique made with St George All Objective Vodka, Pisco Oro Quebrantra, Etter Kirsch Brandy, Lemon, Cocchi Rosa and Honey
Music is on the coronary heart of Junebug’s identification. Positioned within the former Jazz Metropolis Studio—as soon as residence to Allen Toussaint and The Meters—Junebug’s crew curated almost 500 classic funk and soul information. A top-tier analog sound system, full with classic JBLs and tube amps, units the tone every night time.
Designed by the Neighborhood Restaurant Group, the area blends lush backyard components, musical nods (together with repurposed cymbal sconces and trumpet chandeliers), and classic aptitude. The bar glows below hand-painted rosettes, whereas floral wallpapers and customized lighting improve the area’s dreamy, layered really feel.
The Secret Spot
New Orleans-based Florist Tey Stiteler’s flower studio and present store, The Secret Spot, sits on the entrance of Junebug’s adjoining occasion area and doubles as an occasion entrance with Tey’s work counter that may rework right into a bar for personal occasions. At The Secret Spot, visitors can decide up recent, sustainably sourced flowers, heirloom-quality presents, artwork, and handcrafted items from fellow New Orleans-based makers and unbiased artists.
Junebug Hours: Dinner served Sunday and Tuesday–Thursday from 4–11PM; Friday–Saturday till midnight. Closed Mondays. Reservations out there on Resy.
We caught up with Greg Engert—Beverage Director, Companion, and longtime beer professional for Neighborhood Restaurant Group—to speak about how the idea got here collectively, what makes it stand out in a metropolis stuffed with standout spots, and what’s subsequent for the crew.
What impressed the creation of Junebug, and the way did the idea come collectively?
Our firm, The Neighborhood Restaurant Group, which operates a group of two dozen bars and eating places within the Washington, DC space, branched out to New Orleans with the opening of Satan Moon Barbecue and Brewery Saint X again in 2023. Shortly after opening, we discovered a constructing–which had lately housed a bar and restaurant–with an adjoining parking zone on the market on Camp Road within the Warehouse District.
We had been instantly drawn to the musical historical past of the constructing; Cosimo Matassa had operated Jazz Metropolis Studios on the second ground throughout the 60s and 70s, recording the likes of Allen Toussaint, The Meters and The Neville Brothers. We additionally beloved the parking zone subsequent door, instantly seeing a possibility to surround that area and create a premier New Orleans occasion venue.
We’d already been impressed with Chef Shannon Bingham, who we tapped to steer the kitchens at Satan Moon Barbecue and Brewery Saint X, and knew he’d be good to take the reins on the new bar and restaurant we’d begun to think about. Shannon launched us to Sophie Burton, a legend within the New Orleans cocktail scene (and past), and we rapidly realized that we had a dynamic crew to steer the meals and beverage operations at Junebug.
With such spectacular expertise within the kitchen and behind the bar, we envisioned a eating bar and restaurant idea that celebrates and elevates meals and beverage equally, from the bar and lounge within the entrance to the eating room and backyard patio within the again. Shannon conceived a meals program consisting of southern flavors rooted in basic French method, every dish suitably paired with Sophie’s beverage providing, whether or not fruit-forward, spirit-driven cocktails, a targeted listing of sustainable wines from across the globe, creative non-alcoholic choices, or a beer listing comprised of native favorites and lesser-known worldwide rarities.
To carry the idea full circle, our music program displays the wealthy musical historical past of the constructing it will occupy, The nightly soundtrack is a lineup of vinyl pulled from a group of almost 500 information, with a particular concentrate on the funk and soul music of the early and mid-70s when the studio was energetic.
Final, we wished to echo the greenery of the patio, located behind the occasion area, with slightly one thing particular on the entrance to the occasion area: The Secret Spot, a New Orleans-based flower studio and present store run by florist Tey Stiteler.
With so many bars and eating places in New Orleans, how does Junebug stand out?
I’d say our equal dedication to creating memorable meals and beverage experiences in a singular assortment of excessive design areas helps Junebug stand out. The vinyl program is notable after all, as is our dedication to late night time meals; we now have a compelling meals providing out there after 10pm nightly. Additionally, our skill to host events in “The Greenhouse”, our 3500 sq. foot non-public occasion area, is particular; we will ebook weddings, reside music, dance events, cocktail events, massive format dinners, and extra – all with equal aplomb.
How do you see the foods and drinks applications complementing one another?
The meals program consists of a wide selection of shareable dishes, from housemade snacks, small plates and composed dishes, all designed with sharing in thoughts. And nothing goes higher with grazing than a full complement of drinks all crafted and executed on the highest degree. We’ve obtained wealthy, balanced, vigorous and craveable flavors on the plate that beg to be loved with drinks that lean vibrant, crisp, dry and more-ish.
What recommendation would you give to somebody trying to open their very own bar?
The bar and restaurant enterprise is hard; prices are excessive and on the rise, competitors is fierce and one thing new is opening each day. If you happen to resolve to make the leap, put together for sustained stress and lengthy hours, however stay laser-focused on elevating all features of your providing. From meals and beverage, to decor, sound and repair, the passionate dedication to your product pays dividends. The information that you simply’re making folks comfortable, that you simply’re turning them on to new and thrilling choices and creating impressed experiences will maintain you.
Do you will have any upcoming plans you’re significantly enthusiastic about?
We’re excited to activate our large non-public occasion area as talked about above, and create an unparalleled programming calendar–throughout all of our areas–that provides our visitors much more causes to affix us. And extra alternatives to like what we’re doing as a lot as we do.
About Greg Engert
Greg Engert is the Beverage Director and Companion for Neighborhood Restaurant Group, recognized nationally for his visionary method to craft beer. A Middlebury Faculty grad with worldwide examine expertise in Dublin and Munich, Greg first lower his tooth within the beer world at D.C.’s Brickskeller earlier than reworking Rustico right into a craft beer vacation spot in 2006.
Since then, he’s constructed and overseen acclaimed beer applications at over 20 NRG properties, together with ChurchKey, Bluejacket, and The Grand Delancey. Named a Meals & Wine “Sommelier of the Yr” and Imbibe’s “Beer Particular person of the Yr,” Engert can also be the founding father of Snallygaster, the East Coast’s largest craft beer competition.
His work has been featured in The New York Instances, Meals & Wine, Imbibe, Esquire, and different main publications. He presently writes a quarterly column for Craft Beer & Brewing journal’s Brewing Trade Information.
