When Anita’s Grill on Tulane Avenue closed last year, a wave of sadness swept over people who fondly remembered hot meals and late nights at the classic diner, which operated under different owners for more than 70 years. In fact, the wave of fondness and support was so strong that current owner Sean McCormick is preparing to reopen it in The Howard, a mixed-use building in the Central Business District at 833 Howard Ave. An opening date is set for early May.
McCormick’s father used to be a part-owner of the diner, and he kept very traditional business practices: cash only and no delivery apps. The younger McCormick recently told What Now New Orleans that he’ll be updating operations in keeping with the times. The new Anita’s Grill will accept credit and debit cards. Its food will be available through online ordering and delivery apps.
“Now, with the fast-paced world we live in, everything is fast food or to-go orders,” he said. “Everybody wants DoorDash or Grubhub and stuff like that. People are just really fast-paced, I find. Many people ain’t got time to sit down and enjoy a nice hot meal, especially if you got kids.”
“I know at my house, we always go grab something quick,” he noted. “It drives me nuts. I like to sit down and have a hot meal. I think people are kind of getting away from that.”
You will be able to sit down and have a hot meal at the new Anita’s. In addition to classic diner fare, the new diner will feature two or three lunch specials that will cater to the work crowd in the CBD. McCormick said the new diner will keep breakfast and lunch hours to start, but the goal is to eventually bring back the late-night hours that the old Anita’s Grill was known for keeping.
He added that he’s trying to recreate the old diner and issued a call for any old photos to hang on the walls, which people can submit over Facebook. Many old photos were lost during Hurricane Katrina, when 8 to 10 feet of water swept through the diner. McCormick admitted that completely bringing back the old Anita’s is hard to do.
“I’m trying to keep an old style feel, but as I’m getting along doing the work, I kind of like some new things better,” McCormick said. “It’s going to be kind of new, kind of old, and maybe a little something in between.”
