Parish Taceaux to Close: What’s Next?

Some bad news for taceaux lovers downtown. Parish Taceaux, the fun little eatery/drinkery at 708 Texas Street, has announced that it will be closing end-of-day on Saturday, March 19.

PT Owners William and Jorie O’Brien stepped in to keep the eatery open when the original owner decided to step away. Though running a restaurant was a whole new world for them, they learned the ropes and worked to add excitement and more events to enliven the space. Then Covid hit. Though the issues of Covid are (sort of) ‘over’, many small businesses in the region are still grappling with months without significant revenue, and now, increased costs of goods, supply chain issues and difficulty in finding employees. (We encourage you to support all these small and local businesses by liking and sharing their social media posts, spending money with them and referring their goods and services to your friends.)

During all this, William and Jorie fell in love with the adjacent historic building at 700 Texas Street, the home of the former Tipitina’s co-op. They purchased the building and are now renovating the space to become Cooper’s Corner, a historic/chic office space for a variety of business interests.

Why is the space to be called Cooper’s Corner? It’s a great piece of history. Read about it here. 

Will the closing of Parish Taceaux be the end for eating/drinking and fun at 708 Texas Street? Don’t bet on it. There are already conversations in the works for what might come next, so stay tuned!

Story Posted November 2020

Great news for downtown’s eccentric little ‘Not Your Mama’s Tacos’ joint. Parish Taceaux at 708 Texas Street has become the third restaurant to apply for- and receive- a permanent sidewalk cafe permit.

A beautiful day to dine alfresco.

This is a big deal because the permanent sidewalk cafe permit allows Parish Taceaux to make substantial improvements AND to sell alcoholic beverages outside. A beautiful spring day + a nice glass of wine or a warm summery afternoon with an ice cold brew? Yes, please.

PT owners William and Jorie O’Brien.

Since taking over the reins at Parish Taceaux in early-ish November, owners William and Jorie O’Brien have been nothing if not active in helping get the fun little downtown eatery back on its feet. Favorite menu items that had been deleted have found their way back, the waitstaff is attentive and helpful, and the O’Brien’s have come up daily surprises, specials and events. On Wednesday, our lunch group was surprised (and thrilled) when our receipt showed a ‘Wednesday discount.’ Add the Taceaux Tuesdays, Thirsty Thursdays, Bottomless Mimosa and Bloody Mary/Brunch Saturdays as well as Family Night on Saturday – along with other promotions like free parking- and you have a lot happening to attract customers. The kitchen is doing its part- the Chef is pushing out new dishes for patrons to sample; popular ones like the recent Chicken and Chickpea Soup may find their way onto the regular menu.

Chicken and Chickpea Soup.

Sadly, nothing is ever perfect and the O’Briens are drinking from a fire hose. Restaurant management is not their background so their learning curve has been a steep one.

Employees call in sick and leave the restaurant short handed, the strains and costs of Covid are still very real and will be for some time, foot traffic downtown is still diminished because some businesses are telecommuting, people are still leery about going to restaurants. The O’Briens know it was not the best time to become restauranteurs. When he decided to take the plunge, William O’Brien said he was doing it to keep the restaurant he loved open and to help downtown in the process. With good food, fair prices, hard work and soon- a beautiful new sidewalk patio- we like the direction in which the O’Brien’s- and Parish Taceaux- are going.

If you’ve not been to Parish Taceaux, there’s no time like now. Check out their hours and menu, here.

Previous Story November 5, 2020———————-

It was the worst possible news for some in downtown…Parish Taceaux was closing. No more Taceaux Tuesdays, no more Crispy LA catfish and Korean BBQ taceauxs, no more fried avocado appetizer. What a difference a week makes.

New owners have taken over, reopened and brought crowd favorites like the Tezmanian Quesadilla, Spicy Shrimp Taceaux, and Crispy LA Taceaux back. In addition, they are rolling out near-daily special events, such as:

New restaurant hours are 11 am- 7:30 pm Tuesday through Thursday, and 11 am- 8 pm Friday and Saturday.

If you can’t find an on-street space to park, Parish Taceaux is also validating parking in the small private lot at the head of Texas Street. Ask them about a parking pass!