Antoine’s is a restaurant in the French Quarter of New Orleans, known as a family restaurant that counts Oysters Rockefeller and Baked Alaska amongst its signature dishes. Antoine’s also has another feat to its name: it is the oldest continuously-run family restaurant in America. The restaurant dates back to 1840, when Antoine Alciatore, a 27-year-old from France, decided to open up a small restaurant and hostel with his wife. Alciatore died 30 years later due to health problems and his wife soon took over. When their son, Jules, was old enough, he took over the restaurant and came up with many of the signature dishes that are still served today. Jules married into a wealthy family, who helped him convert the small restaurant into an 800-person restaurant with 14 dining rooms.
In the 1920s, Jules’ son took over Antoine’s Restaurant, and ran the restaurant for over fifty years. Upon his death, the restaurant was passed on to his nephews, then to one of his nephews’ sons, then to the other nephew’s son, and finally to his cousin, Rick Blount. Rick Blount’s daughter, Casie, has been groomed to take over the business when he is no longer able to. The restaurant has a staff of nearly 160 people, many of them related to the original owner through blood and marriage. Each member of the staff spent several years in a training program before becoming official members of the staff team. They have seen such notable patrons as Presidents Kennedy and Nixon, Joan Rivers, and Pope John Paul II. The restaurant has thrived for decades, through two world wars, Prohibition, and numerous hurricanes. When Hurricane Katrina hit, the restaurant suffered only minimal damage, and it took just four months for the building to be fixed up to its previous appearance. Over the years, Antoine’s Restaurant has been owned by five generations of Antoine Alciatore’s family, and the sixth generation is already preparing to take over.