Serving Since

New Orleans

Serving since

1946

80 years in New Orleans

The Camellia Grill

New Orleans · Diner

Go here for
Omelets · Freezes · Chocolate pecan pie
Why go
Omelets, freezes and pecan pie at the counter of a Carrollton Avenue diner open since 1946.
Local character
Locals + visitors. Gambit (2007) reported out-of-towners made up a great deal of the diner's business, alongside local families; it was in most guidebooks.
Good to know
Outside the center: about 4 miles from downtown New Orleans.
Directions Official website

Opened in December 1946. Closed after Hurricane Katrina and reopened under new ownership in April 2007.

Why it matters

The Schwartz family opened the Camellia Grill on Carrollton Avenue in December 1946. The diner says it was the first restaurant in New Orleans to hire African Americans to work front of house. Harry Tervalon worked the night shift for nearly fifty years.

Though it suffered little damage in Hurricane Katrina, the diner stayed closed for more than 20 months while fans left Post-it notes on its façade. Restaurateur Hicham Khodr bought it and reopened it in April 2007, renovating the kitchen but not the dining room.

The story

  1. 1946The Schwartz family opens the Camellia Grill3
  2. 2007Reopens in April under Hicham Khodr after the Katrina closure2
  3. TodayStill serving New Orleans

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Notes on the record

  • Sources give the opening day as December 19 or December 21, 1946.
  • The diner describes itself as the first New Orleans restaurant to hire African Americans for front-of-house jobs. We report the claim; we haven't verified it.

Details

Address
626 South Carrollton Avenue, New Orleans, LA 70118
Ownership
Not verified
Status
Open · verified Sep 2026

OldScore

A secondary, editorial measure. The founding year above is the fact that matters most. How it works.

Age22/ 35
Continuity5/ 20
Local significance10/ 20
Local food culture10/ 15
Independence—/ 10
OldScoreNot yet scored

"—" means unknown. We don't publish a total until every part is verified.

Local character: Locals + visitors. Gambit (2007) reported out-of-towners made up a great deal of the diner's business, alongside local families; it was in most guidebooks. This is separate from OldScore: a place can be popular with visitors and still belong here.

More like this

Sources

  1. The Camellia Grill (official site) Founding year, Address, Current status, What to order
  2. The Camellia Grill, Our History (official) Founding year, Ownership, History
  3. City of New Orleans HDLC, Camellia Grill nomination report (meeting Aug 15, 2013) Founding year, Ownership, History
  4. New Orleans & Company, 'The Camellia Grill' Founding year, What to order
  5. Gambit, 'Camellia Grill to Spread Its Roots' (2007) History