2021 Gumbo final - Book - Page 134
134
dead poet
A
bar formerly associated with Tiger Land now has a
new look, age requirement and dress code.
Dead Poet, located at 623 E Boyd St., was acquired by new
management and now has an age requirement of 23 and a
cocktail dress requirement.
Former Dead Poet Associate Manager Justin Burnett said
he saw a need for a more elevated nightlife experience in
the Baton Rouge area. While it has been hard to change how
people view the bar, Burnett said the new look is drawing in
a crowd.
“People feel that this particular area just needed a place
for grad students or people that just graduated that may
still want to party and socialize in the Tiger Land area that
doesn’t necessarily feel like they are in Tiger Land,” Burnett
said.
The bar is now furnished with LED lit tables and leather
seats as well as a new VIP section. Where there used to be a
dance floor, there are now tables and stools.
While the furnishings have changed, the murals done by
local artist Ellen Ogden are still there. The new management
also added a food menu to accompany the full bar. Each
table has a QR code to scan for a food and drink menu.
“We got inspiration from Chicago, Atlanta and Miami and
felt like there was a void in Baton Rouge that we could fill,”
Burnett said.
Their new VIP section is currently used for people who
come in with large groups. If the floor is full, large groups
can pay a fee to sit in VIP to ensure the bar is staying socially
distanced. In the future, the VIP section will be able to be
reserved and used for bottle service.
Currently, Dead Poet holds events such as Bottomless
Wine Wednesday and Bottomless Mimosa Sunday. Both
events have recently changed to having a 21 and up age
requirement to accommodate for a younger crowd in Baton
Rouge. In the future, Burnett said they hope to be able to
expand their calendar of events even further.
“We want to do live music, we want to do Latin nights,
we want to do spoken word poetry nights,” Burnett said.
“We want to do all types of events that are more eclectic and
diverse socially, but we are just handcuffed as it stands due
to COVID.”
Dead Poet follows COVID-19 safety guidelines such as
having all servers wear a mask as well as patrons until they
are seated. They also have their tables spread out to help
with social distancing and offer customers hand sanitizer.