The Camellia Grill is a landmark diner in the Carrollton section (Uptown) of New Orleans. It is on Carrollton Avenue near its intersection with St. Charles Avenue on the St. Charles Streetcar line.
History The Camellia Grill first opened its doors on December 19, 1946.Kerri McCaffety, Peggy Scott Laborde, Etouffée, Mon Amour: The Great Restaurants of New Orleans (Pelican Publishing Company, 2002), , pp. 128-129. Excerpts available at Google Books. Despite suffering little physical damage, the restaurant was closed after Hurricane Katrina until April 2007, when it reopened under new ownership. "Camellia Grill to open this week", Times-Picayune, April 16, 2007. During this period of closure, the Camellia Grill's front door was festooned with hundreds of notes from locals and tourists who missed it.
The restaurant main eating area is counter service it has outside seating when available and its staff is usually gregarious. It is well known for its long-serving waiters, the most famous of whom was probably Harry Tervalon, Sr., who was the first waiter hired in 1946, and who even after his 1996 retirement remained associated with the restaurant (including cutting the ribbon when the Grill finally reopened after Katrina), until his death in August 2007.James O'Byrne, "Legendary Camellia Grill Waiter Dies", Times-Picayune, August 23, 2007.
The restaurant was purchased in 2006 by local restaurateur Hicham Khodr, who later opened two now-closed branches in the French Quarter and Destin, Florida. In May 2012, a state court ruled that Khodr was in breach of his licensing agreement with the former owner, and this ruling was upheld on appeal in May 2013, meaning that Khodr could be required to change the name of the restaurants.Richard A. Webster, "Camellia Grill may have to change its name after court ruling", Times-Picayune, May 8, 2013. However, in July 2015 he won the right to continue using the restaurant's trademark, name and logo.
Dishes The establishment is noted for such casual cuisine as giant omelettes, cheeseburgers, "freezes," and pecan pie heated on the grill.
References
External links
Ian McNulty, "Camellia Grill to Spread Its Roots", Gambit Weekly, September 5, 2006 Video of reopened CG. Recipe for Camellia Grill's Famous Pecan Pie Karey Stoltz, November 2008