The neon sign spelling out the name of the Beachcorner Bar & Grill (4905 Canal St., 504-488-7357) has long given a timeless look to this Canal Street tavern, known for big fat bar burgers and late-night food.
But it turns out there was something older underneath that neon that is now inspiring what the Beachcorner will look like in the future.
“I had no idea it was under there, we were so surprised,” said Beachcorner proprietor Gina Scala Perret.
The Beachcorner Bar & Grill discovered a sign from its past during a round of renovations, bringing back a vintage look. (Staff photo by Ian McNulty, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune)
Termite damage to the building prompted a round of work that includes removing a shingled overhang that held the neon sign.
That revealed a much older sign, reading Beachcorner Lounge. Glass block windows were also covered up by brick years ago, and these remain intact today, now revealed by the work.
Perret is the third-generation proprietor of the Beachcorner and she asked her mother to dig up old photos. One from the trove shows the now-excavated facade as it appeared back in the 1950s, when it had a slightly different name: Beachcomber (more on that below).
Perret was enthralled by the discovery and is now planning how to incorporate the past into a new facade for the tavern.
“I want to go back to what it was, the old nostalgic look,” she said.
The Beachcorner Bar & Grill discovered a sign from its past during a round of renovations, bringing back a vintage look. (Staff photo by Ian McNulty, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune)
Neon signs will go back up, she said, and the name will likely stay Beachcorner Bar & Grill (not Beachcorner Lounge, and not Beachcomber either).
About that name…
Blue cheese topples from a takeout cheeseburger from the Beachcorner Bar & Grill in New Orleans.
Perret says her grandparents started the Beachcorner in 1957 after buying what had previously been a bar called Phil’s.
It was initially called the Beachcomber, but Perret says only after installing the neon sign did her grandparents learn that name was trademarked (Don the Beachcomber was the trade name of a revered Tiki cocktail pioneer).
“The easiest way to change it was to change the m and b to r and n,” Perret said.
And thus the Beachcorner name was coined, never mind the fact that plenty of New Orleans people still call it the Beachcomber anyway.
The discovery of the old sign has prompted much interest, with people stopping on Canal Street to snap photos. While the Beachcorner has been open through the renovations (using a side entrance), the work will close the restaurant from Dec. 18 until, tentatively, Dec. 22.
