Arnaud's

Arnaud's was founded in 1918 by a French wine salesman, Arnaud Cazenave. He had immigrated to New Orleans in 1902 from France by way of New York City in the early 20th century. Cazenave came to New Orleans with the intent of offering fine food and wine to the local people. He acquired multiple adjacent properties on Bienville Street in the New Orleans French Quarter, thereby establishing a large restaurant.

Cazenave's daughter Germaine Wells took over management of Arnaud's as of his death in 1948. During the period of Wells's ownership, she maintained the restaurant practices established by her father. In 1957, she was recognized by the National Restaurant Association for her hospitality as a restaurateur.

In 1978, 60 years after the restaurant first opened, Archie Casbarian and his wife Jane Casbarian acquired management of Arnaud's, initially as a lease. The Casbarians had considerable experience in the hospitality industry. By that time, Arnaud's had deteriorated significantly from neglect, and the Casbarian family restored the restaurant to then contemporary standards while retaining its original appeal. These renovations included both physical changes to the building and updating and improving the menu. To finance the renovations, the new owners sold timeshare rights to tables at the restaurant. In these agreements, for US $10,000, buyers received US $12,000 in food and drink credit at the restaurant. They also received a guarantee that their table would be available within 30 minutes of contacting the restaurant, and their names were permanently memorialized in a wall at the restaurant. These changes brought the restaurant positive recognition and widespread approval and restored the restaurant's elegance. The timeshare arrangement also created a sense of ownership among some of the clientele.

At the same time that Arnaud's was undergoing restoration and modernization, the new owners updated their offerings of Louisiana Creole cuisine and introduced their own versions of classic creole recipes. As they assessed their offerings, they used local creole chef and restaurateur Warren Leruth as a consultant.

Under the terms of the lease of the restaurant by the Casbarians, Germaine Wells continued to live in an apartment within the restaurant buildings. At the same time, she exerted some influence over restaurant management. The Casbarians acquired full ownership of Arnaud's at the time of Wells's death in 1983.

Arnaud's restaurant was one of the first local restaurants to reopen after Hurricane Katrina, which caused great damage in the Greater New Orleans area in August 2005, re-opening in November 2005.

As of 2014 Arnaud's is run by the fourth generation of the Casbarian family, which are siblings Katy Casbarian and Archie Casbarian, as well as their mother Jane Casbarian. The family retains the style of its founder, Arnaud Cazenave.

In 2018 Arnaud's publicly celebrated its centenary.