Before brewery taprooms proliferated anew across the beer drinking landscape, brewpubs combining full-service restaurants and in-house breweries were all the rage. So it was a significant addition for beer lovers in 2004 when the national chain Gordon Biersch opened in New Orleans.
In August, however, the local outpost of the brewpub quietly closed, ending a 20-year run amid other closures of the Gordon Biersch brand around the country.
The brewpub, at 200 Poydras St., is in a prominent location fronting the Fulton Street pedestrian mall. The property is run by Caesars Casino (as it takes over the former Harrah’s).
A Caesars spokesman said there’s no word yet on what could come next in the space, but added the company is in discussion with some of its national partners about it.
Gordon Biersch's tap lineup.
The Gordon Biersch brand was born in the 1990s when the brewpub model was hot. It brought a range of German-style brews in a family-friendly setting to a city where craft brewing was only just starting its revival.
Crescent City Brewhouse had pioneered the local brewpub model locally when it opened in 1991 (and it’s still pouring in the French Quarter). In 2004 there was also Zea Rotisserie & Brewery (now Zea Rotisserie & Bar, no longer a brewery) and Brewhouse Grill in Mid-City (which opened that same year, replacing the older Acadian Brewery, though it didn’t return after Hurricane Katrina).
Gordon Biersch Brewery, CBD
Gordon Biersch had 25 locations nationwide when it opened in New Orleans, but in more recent years the brewpubs have been closing. Today there are just three stand-alone locations left, in addition to a number in airport concourses.
Gordon Biersch is part of SPB Hospitality, a Houston-based restaurant giant with brands including Logan’s Roadhouse and Krystal.
