by Brad Rhines

As of Tuesday night, J’anitas ain’t dere no more.  While much has been made about the post-K restaurant revival in New Orleans, this week’s closing of both locations of one of the city’s favorites stands as a reminder of just how tough the business can be. Owners Craig and Kim Giesecke first opened J’anitas on lower Magazine Street back in 2008 and quickly earned a devoted following for their inspired breakfast and brunch menus, along with staples like the Best Fish Sammich Ever. 

After a relatively short run, they packed up their knives and moved to the Avenue Pub, where some might say they were a victim of their own success.  As the foodies and the hop heads began vying for space at the St. Charles Avenue beer bar, something had to give, and an amicable split found J’anitas at the Rendon Inn, still serving up their famous guacamole and St. Chuck Duck sandwiches.  And late last year a second location opened uptown at Grit’s Bar, which seemed to be a sign of good things ahead. 

But Tuesday night, Kim Giesecke took to Twitter to announce that J’anitas “will end its run after tonight's service.  Thank you, dear customers, for nearly five years of fun.  It's been grand!”

NoDef caught up with Craig Giesecke yesterday evening to talk about the restaurant’s closing.  Staffing, he told us, had become an issue in recent weeks, and it was becoming difficult to cover shifts at both the Rendon Inn and Grit’s Bar.

“But the overriding issue,” he said, “is for an extended period of time, we’ve had a hard time trying to make the numbers work at the Rendon.”

Part of the problem, admitted Giesecke, is the bar’s off-the-beaten-path location.  “It’s just so far out of the way,” he said, “and though we have a very dedicated client base that we love and appreciate, most of them don’t live in the Broadmoor area.”

Customers that would drop into the Avenue Pub for a pint and a bite on St. Charles were more reluctant to head out to a neighborhood watering hole on Eve Street.  Giesecke saw a lot of the same faces, just less often.  In the end, his arrangement with the Rendon just wasn’t working out.

“Each week I would get a check from the previous week’s food sales,” Giesecke said, “and it got to the point where last week was so slow that I was afraid I would end up owing the bar money, and I just couldn’t keep doing that week after week.”

Still, he said, the parting with Rendon was on good terms.  “There’s nobody angry, and there’s nobody mad or upset at anybody,” he told us.

So what’s next?  J’anitas has a fervent following, and many speculate that the restaurant could still survive elsewhere, maybe in its own space, or maybe even operating out of a food truck.  But Giesecke told NoDef the future was unclear.

“I don’t know,” he said.  “We have talked to a person or two who are interested in keeping what we do alive and it would be fun—it’s always been fun—but in the short term I can’t really see it happening.  I’m just flat tired.  Kim and I have burned the candle hard for almost 5 years, and we need a break.”

For now, said Giesecke, “I’m enjoying a couple of days off.”