I’ve known Earl and Pam since around the time that they began at the World’s Fair. My mother and her second husband (and then my brother when he moved here) were daily attendees of the Deja Vu when they owned it and we all spent time at the Decatur Gator in the 1980s too. I still pop in to catch some local musicians at the little TI on Bourbon every once in a while, and the Grapevine is quite a good place to get a glass of wine and to experience (read smell and taste) the bacon happy hour.

I also know folks who live very close to the flagship bar at Orleans and Bourbon who told me that TI is a very good neighbor to have which is a huge compliment in the Quarter from any resident.

Pam and Earl are a classic example of one type of entrepreneur that the French Quarter attracts. It is not the millennial hipster we get here but the savvy seasoned business person who can handle the chaos and the demands of operating in the Quarter. (I wrote about that a little in a post I did comparing the Quarter to the Cincinnati neighborhood of Over-The-Rhine. )

As for their real claim to fame, I recently remarked to friends that the Grenade has clearly outpaced the Hurricane as the favorite drink for tourists, based on the number of them that I see in the hands of sweaty, drunken visitors. Maybe it’s time for a craft artist to create a sculpture out of the glasses- maybe a life-sized gator to mark its prominence?

Pam is constantly roaming the Quarter and always up for a chat so keep an eye out for her and say hello.