NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) — In January, the family-owned Lucy’s Retired Surfers Bar was stripped of its name, and surfboards during a legal battle between owners, Susan and Bruce Rampick, and their former partners.
The bar that has occupied the space at 701 Tchoupitoulas Street for 22 years was renamed 701, and the future of the neighborhood staple was questionable.
But the original owners and staff ride again!
Susan and Bruce Rampick are ecstatic to bring back what they refer to as their “first born.”
Susan says that the love she has for the bar and the ties it has to her family are immeasurable.
“That’s where my husband and I met. That’s where our kids were raised. It’s just our family. It’s so great to be back; I can’t even tell you,” remarked Rampick.
Susan was an aspiring actress in the 80s, from New Orleans, living the dream in New York City, and a waitress at the original Lucy’s in Manhattan when she met her husband Bruce, the owner/ retired surfer himself.
That’s where it all began.
“The thing that was always fun about Lucy’s is that you could’ve walked in at any time, and there was always a handful of neighborhood people such as Mike Tyson, or Michael J. Fox, or Rob Lowe, or whoever it was back in the 80s. It was just so much fun.”
The original bar opened in 1985, and Susan persuaded her husband to open one in her hometown of New Orleans in 1992.
The bartenders have been serving up scorpion shots and hosting Taco Tuesday’s at 701 Tchoupitoulas long before the neighborhood is what it is today.
Its surroundings may have changed, but the family atmosphere has not, and that is what inspired their new partners, Kirkendoll Management to get on board.
“This is such a neighborhood icon, and it has such a huge following and such a great culture that I’ve had phone calls and text messages saying, ‘Hey, we’re coming. It doesn’t matter if it’s raining or not, I’ve got my shrimp boots ready, I’ve got my flip flops ready. Let’s have a party tonight,” laughed Jorge Henriquez, executive director of Kirkendoll Management.
The surfer decor was required to be removed in January, but the boards, the iconic sign, the mermaids, and the mural on the back wall are all back in business.
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