Food - Drink
The New Orleans Restaurant With A Reservation For The Dead
By LISA CURRAN MATTE
Content Warning
The following story contains discussions of suicide.
Pierre Antoine Lepardi Jourdan loved his New Orleans home so much he couldn't bear to leave it — even after he died. Unable to face the prospect of losing his home to gambling, Jourdan died by suicide in a second-floor parlor, but according to legend, he may have found the one loophole that let him stay in the house forever.
After his death, Jourdan's beloved home passed through several residential and commercial owners, until 2001, when it opened as the restaurant Muriel’s. Since then, Muriel’s has faced many unusual occurrences, like flying glasses and moving orbs of light, leading the owners to call in paranormal researchers.
In 2008, New Orleans Magazine accompanied Louisiana Spirits on a ghost-hunting excursion at Muriel's, and the writer reported several potential encounters with Jourdan's spirit, including deliberate knocking in response to specific questions. Staff and patrons have reported similar non-threatening experiences that they say are like welcoming "an old kindred spirit to dine."
As a result, the management decided to set a designated table, complete with fresh bread and wine, for Jourdan every evening. They only forgot once, and according to The Haunted Places, Jourdan expressed his displeasure at the oversight with a loud thump, the sound of a chair hitting a brick wall adjacent to his table.