The Hi-Ho Is Back, and the 2200 Block of St. Claude Has Its Fall Calendar Again

Before the new owners booked a band or poured a drink at 2239 St. Claude Avenue, they hung the original Hi-Ho sign back over the stage. NOLA.com reported that the sign was already up when the reopening was announced. The owners are also planning to bring back the outer-space mural that used to cover the outside of the bar.

The Hi-Ho closed on Halloween 2024. Nearly two years later, the bar on the corner of St. Claude and Marigny Street has its old name again. The room never sat empty. It ran as No Dice for almost two years, closed in mid-September, and had its soft opening as the Hi-Ho less than two weeks later. The reason is simple. The bars on this corner have changed hands several times, but the building has had the same owner the whole time, and the room has always been used as a music venue. That's why the 2200 block still has a dependable fall calendar.

One Building, Several Operators

The Hi-Ho's history is mostly a list of operators, and one building owner stays constant through all of it. John Hartsock bought the building after Hurricane Katrina, and Gambit reports that he still owns it. He renovated it and opened the Hi-Ho Lounge with Lori Bernard. NOLA.com dates the work to 2006 and says it included cleaning out the building and adding a new sound system and a high-end lighting rig.

According to OffBeat, the 2013 handoff to the Maison owners covered the business only. Hartsock and Bernard kept the building. When the 2024 owners left, Gambit reported that the space "quickly reopened" as No Dice and kept booking bands and DJs for the next two years.

The No Dice handoff in September followed the same pattern. No Dice said shows already on the books would go on through the transition, and the new owners told NOLA.com they would honor every show No Dice had booked for the coming months. No Dice's goodbye post, as quoted by NOLA.com, thanked "our regulars, the bands, the block, our staff." The calendar kept going through the change of hands. When the Hi-Ho reopened, Hartsock told NOLA.com he was "very happy to remove the Hi-Ho Lounge off of the 'Ain't dere no more!' list."

The New Owners Are Bringing Back the Old Hi-Ho

A building owner who stayed put explains why the room survived. It doesn't explain why the new operators picked the old name over a new one. Their statement, quoted by Gambit, answers that directly:

"We didn't take over this space to change it; we took it over to bring it back. We are taking our time to clean things up and get the stage ready to welcome back the local independent talent, artists, and neighborhood regulars who made this room magic."

NOLA.com reported that Davis and his co-owner have talked with the Hi-Ho's original owners so the new version keeps a similar feel. The same story says the co-owner used to run a large music venue in St. Louis. The soft opening on Friday, Sept. 25 was a benefit with the Krewe of Dolly for Dolly Parton's 9-to-5 Day. Part of the proceeds went to Dolly Parton's Imagination Library.

A Weekly Schedule Built Around Regulars

Regular programming started Thursday, Oct. 1. The weekly lineup, as listed by OffBeat, is mostly built for people who live nearby:

• Mondays: Locals' Mondays, with free red beans and rice
• Tuesdays: Tacotastic Tuesdays with Otto's Gothic Cumbias
• Thursdays: '80s Night with DJ Shane Love
• Sundays: Game Day Sundays with drink specials

The venue also plans to host local brass band and indie rock showcases. The Hi-Ho Lounge website sums up the reopening as "Same old soul. brand new chapter."

Across the Street and Down the Block

The Hi-Ho shapes the block's calendar because its neighbors are so close. Several addresses on this short stretch book their own nights, and the Hi-Ho's return adds another schedule to theirs.

AllWays Lounge & Cabaret is directly across St. Claude at 2240, and its October 2026 calendar is full of shows.

Kajun's Pub is a few doors down at 2256 St. Claude. Its site lists it as a karaoke bar open 4 p.m. to 3 a.m. daily, which makes it the block's late-night option.

The New Orleans Healing Center at 2372 St. Claude covers the daytime. According to its own site, it is open daily from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. On Oct. 16 it held a free costume swap and craft night ahead of Halloween.

Saturn Bar is farther down the avenue at 3067 St. Claude, in Bywater. Its New Orleans & Company listing shows shows booked into December.

Together these venues cover the whole day: the Healing Center in the daytime, live shows at the Hi-Ho and AllWays at night, and Kajun's after midnight. With the Hi-Ho back, the corner at Marigny Street has a full schedule again on the side of the block that had dropped its old name.

The Dates Through December

These are the dated events on and near this stretch of St. Claude between now and the end of the year:

1. Saturday, Oct. 31, 10 p.m.: HUSTLE! with DJ Soul Sister at the Hi-Ho Lounge. This is the return of her long-running party to the room, according to the New Orleans & Company event listing.
2. Sunday, Nov. 1, 5 to 10 p.m.: Fèt Gede, the Haitian Day of the Dead festival, at the New Orleans Healing Center. It is free and open to the public, with altars, an art and craft market, vendors, a ceremony and a procession.
3. Thursday, Nov. 5: Valerie Sassyfras at Saturn Bar.
4. November, date to be announced: Antenna's St. Claude Art Bus, an annual event for the St. Claude Avenue arts community. Antenna's page currently says to stay tuned for November 2026 details.
5. Wednesday, Dec. 9: Steady Company and Swinging Doors at Saturn Bar.

In between, the Hi-Ho's weekly nights run as announced: red beans on Mondays, cumbia on Tuesdays, '80s night on Thursdays and game-day specials on Sundays. Musicians who want to play the room can email the new owners at [email protected], according to NOLA.com.

If you own a building in Marigny or Bywater, or you're thinking about what your address on the avenue is worth, Wurth Real Estate Services can give you a free home valuation that takes the block, the corner and the neighbors into account.