Who Runs Bon Ton Cafe Now? Best Thing I Ever Ate Update (New Orleans, LA)

Best Thing I Ever Ate, Season 2, Episode 3

Bon Ton Cafe was a Creole and Cajun restaurant at 401 Magazine Street in New Orleans's Central Business District, prized for dishes such as crawfish etouffee, turtle soup, and bread pudding with whiskey sauce; it was, by its own account, among the oldest restaurant addresses in the city, behind only Antoine's and Tujague's. According to a WhatNow New Orleans report dated April 24, 2024, the restaurant closed in March 2020 just before COVID-19 shutdowns began, and the CentraArchy Restaurant Group bought it afterward; the same report says a fire in September 2023, sparked by oily rags left from renovation work, further delayed reopening. The business's own website, btprimerib.com, checked September 7, 2026, describes the location as "where Magazine meets Natchez" and says the restaurant "is now known as 'Bon Ton Prime Rib,'" open daily starting at 5 p.m.

Food Paradise, Season 9, Episode 5

The episode featured Bon Ton Café's classic Cajun cooking, including its longstanding crawfish étouffée and gumbo, served at the restaurant's Central Business District location on Magazine Street. According to nomenu.com, the Bon Ton first opened in 1953 and was long considered the third-oldest restaurant in New Orleans, behind Antoine's and Tujague's. The restaurant closed in early 2020, and RGGC reported that Chophouse New Orleans proprietor Jerry Greenbaum bought the business and its building with plans to revive it, though a fire during renovation work delayed the reopening further. The location has since reopened at 401 Magazine St. as Bon Ton Prime Rib, a steakhouse concept with executive chef Jared Gassenberger serving prime rib, classic steaks, and regional seafood, according to the restaurant's own website. This entry is treated as an appearance for the same Magazine Street location, already on file as Bon Ton Prime Rib.