Backspace Bar & Kitchen

Backspace Bar & Kitchen is a bar built around writers, with author quotes, author-named sandwiches, and a menu that has been organized like a book.

Where it is

The bar is at 139 Chartres Street, New Orleans, LA 70130. Louisiana’s tourism office calls it “a true diamond in the rough of surrounding dive bars that line Chartres Street.” A French Quarter directory lists it at the same address, and Restaurant Guru places it in the French Quarter.

The tourism office and New Orleans Magazine both write the name as Backspace Bar & Kitchen. The French Quarter directory shortens it to Backspace Bar.

Who started it

A February 3, 2016 piece in French Quarterly says: “Founded by Robert and Chloe Watters, the bar pays tribute to renowned southern literary geniuses.” Robert Watters is quoted as saying, “Backspace tells the story of those writers who have been inspired by New Orleans.”

An April 17, 2015 article in Keys Weekly says the same couple opened a Backspace Bar and Kitchen in Key West, Florida, and adds, “The couple owns another restaurant in New Orleans.” It does not name the New Orleans restaurant, so that line fits this bar but does not prove it.

No source here says who owns the bar now, or when it opened. The earliest dated piece, a March 20, 2013 review, already calls it a “new tavern.”

The literary theme

The 2013 New Orleans Magazine review says the bar “has a literary theme running all throughout the concept.” Vintage typewriters were mounted on the wall “over the bar’s stock of Grey Goose and Jameson.” Booze-related quotes from Raymond Chandler, Truman Capote, and William Faulkner ran on the cocktail list. The sandwiches carried author names: a Hemingway Cuban and a Walt Whitman roast beef. The same review says the bar sponsored the Tennessee Williams/New Orleans Literary Festival and hosted two after-parties that weekend.

By 2016, French Quarterly describes a menu organized like a book. Traditional cocktails such as the Moscow Mule, Sidecar, and French 75 sat under “Poetry.” A section called “Adventure,” titled “Cocktails for the Uncommon,” included a Scorpion served in a Hemingway tiki mug. Food ran from “The Introduction,” with red beans and rice, gumbo, and a chef’s salad, to sandwiches under “Prologue.” Watters credited a Hemingway phrase, “a clean well lit room,” for the bar’s philosophy. The Backspace Breakfast, the article says, was served from 11 a.m. until 8 a.m. the next day, seven days a week.

The French Quarter directory adds mid-century pin-up imagery to the decor. The Keys Weekly article says the New Orleans venue features a pin-up girl in its advertising and in person.

How the drinks have changed

The 2013 reviewer found standard liquor brands, Abita Amber and Blue Moon on tap, and vodka mixed drinks such as Red Bull and vodka. A December 2019 column in the French Quarter Journal calls it a “craft cocktail bar” with a brick back wall, leather seating, and a chalkboard menu. It names two drinks, the Kinky Baptist and Dear Science, and a kitchen serving poutine.

Recent listings describe a different focus. Wanderlog calls it a literary-themed bar with exposed brick and a fireplace, known for a chicken sandwich with hot honey sauce, boudin balls, and handcrafted cocktails. Localoria lists the Sazerac and French 75 among the classics and mentions Brussels sprouts, $3 fries, and some domestic beers as low as $2. No source from 2025 or 2026 mentions the typewriters or the author quotes, so whether they remain is unknown.

Is it open

The newest evidence is indirect. Restaurant Guru’s page, marked updated October 21, 2026, lists daily hours of noon to 2 a.m. and shows no closure notice. Wanderlog’s page shows Google reviews dated as late as April 27, 2026, and a Localoria listing shows reviews through February 17, 2026. None of these comes from the bar itself.

backspacenola.com, the website the tourism office lists, did not load on November 9, 2026 (an error page at the plain address, an expired security certificate at www), so the newest word comes from listings.

Before you go

Hours disagree. The French Quarter directory says daily from 11 a.m. to 4 a.m. Restaurant Guru and Wanderlog say noon to 2 a.m. A Franki listing says 11:30 a.m. to 11:45 p.m. The tourism office gives (504) 322-2245 and says to contact the business before a visit, which is sound advice here.