HauntBound archive · catalog record
Reported phenomena — as catalogued
A century-old French Quarter Creole restaurant where regulars still report smelling its late founder's cologne.
813 Bienville St, New Orleans, LA 70112
Research updated August 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
$$$
Fine-dining entrees roughly $30-$60; a jacket is requested for gentlemen at dinner. Reservations recommended.
Access
Wheelchair OK
Historic French Quarter building with multiple connected dining rooms
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1918 · French Quarter Culinary History · Mardi Gras Museum · Creole Cuisine
Arnaud Cazenave immigrated to New Orleans by way of New York in the early 1900s and opened his restaurant at 813 Bienville Street in 1918. Over the following decades he bought out neighboring buildings on the block, eventually connecting more than a dozen dining rooms into a single restaurant known for haute Creole cooking and its self-styled "Count." Cazenave died in 1948, and his daughter, Germaine Cazenave Wells, took over management.
Wells ran the restaurant for three decades and became one of Carnival's most prominent figures, reigning as queen of 22 Mardi Gras balls between 1937 and 1968 — more than any other woman in Carnival history. In 1978, with the restaurant's fortunes declining, she sold it to Swiss-trained hotelier Archie Casbarian. The Germaine Cazenave Wells Mardi Gras Museum, holding dozens of her ball gowns and Carnival regalia, opened inside the restaurant in 1983 and remains open to diners today.
Casbarian's daughter Katy and his widow, Jane, now run Arnaud's as the restaurant passes its first century, still serving French Quarter regulars from the same Bienville Street address Cazenave assembled a hundred years ago.
Sources
The most repeated account holds that Arnaud Cazenave still checks on his restaurant during dinner service, appearing near the main dining room or the bar, with staff and diners reporting the smell of the violet cologne he was known to wear in life. Jeff Dwyer's Ghost Hunter's Guide to New Orleans includes Arnaud's among its documented French Quarter locations, describing similar reports from staff.
A second figure associated with the building is Germaine Cazenave Wells, seen by some staff and visitors as a misty shape near the museum that displays her Carnival gowns, on the building's upper floor. Reports describe her as protective of the collection rather than threatening.
Neither account has independent documentation beyond staff testimony and tour-guide retellings, and Arnaud's does not run its own ghost-tour programming; the restaurant's public identity rests on its food and its Mardi Gras history rather than its reported hauntings.
Notable Entities
Media Appearances
Fine Creole dining across the restaurant's connected 19th-century dining rooms, from the main room to the French 75 Bar. Reservations are recommended and taken by phone; a jacket is requested for gentlemen at dinner.
A self-guided walk past display cases of Germaine Cazenave Wells's Carnival ball gowns and royal regalia, lining the restaurant's staircase and upper hallway. Free to view for diners and visitors during restaurant hours.
Some links on this page may earn HauntBound a small commission when you book, at no extra cost to you. Our editorial picks are independent. Full disclosure
Every HauntBound history is researched from documented sources. We clearly separate verified historical fact from paranormal folklore.
Free Guide
11 verified stops, rated for families, mapped in order. Free.
One email to confirm, then the guide link. Unsubscribe anytime.
New Orleans, LA
Brennan's Restaurant opened in 1946 and moved to its current Royal Street building in 1956. The building dates to the late 18th century and previously housed the Banque de la Louisiane. Bananas Foster - now an iconic New Orleans dessert - was invented at Brennan's by chef Paul Blange in 1951. The Brennan family openly maintains haunted-history materials. The restaurant was featured on Ghost Hunters in connection with the Red Room.
New Orleans, LA
Lafitte's Blacksmith Shop at 941 Bourbon Street in New Orleans is a French Colonial townhouse built between 1772 and 1791. The briquette-entre-poteaux structure is one of the oldest surviving buildings in the French Quarter and was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1970. It has operated as a bar since the 1940s.
New Orleans, LA
The Old Absinthe House occupies a corner building at 240 Bourbon Street in the French Quarter of New Orleans. The structure was built in 1806 as a commission house and corner grocery; the ground floor was converted to a saloon in 1815, and the famous Absinthe House Frappe was created behind the bar in 1874 by mixologist Cayetano Ferrer.