NEW ORLEANS — For five decades, Charlie Bateman has helped welcome the world to New Orleans while becoming a familiar leader and advocate within the city’s hospitality community. This month, Pat O’Brien’s will celebrate a remarkable milestone: Bateman’s 50 years with the iconic French Quarter institution.
Bateman’s journey with Pat O’Brien’s began while he was still in high school, continuing seasonally through his college years. After graduating from Southeastern Louisiana University with a degree in criminology, he began bartending full time in 1976.
Owners George Oechsner Jr. and George “Sonny” Oechsner III soon recognized Bateman’s leadership and offered him a path into management. By 1985, he had risen to Vice President of Operations.
Over the decades, Bateman’s impact has extended well beyond Pat O’Brien’s.
He was involved in the early development of French Quarter Festival and later served for years on the board of French Quarter Festivals, Inc., supporting an organization whose events have become an important part of New Orleans culture and tourism.
Bateman has also been active with organizations including the French Quarter Business Association, Louisiana Hospitality Foundation and Louisiana Restaurant Association, working to promote New Orleans tourism and support the people who make the city’s hospitality industry possible.
During his tenure at Pat O’Brien’s, Bateman also helped oversee franchise partnerships in Cancun, Mexico, and at Universal Studios CityWalk in Orlando, Florida, bringing one of New Orleans’ most recognizable hospitality brands to visitors beyond the French Quarter.
His leadership became especially important in the difficult days following Hurricane Katrina, as New Orleans businesses and hospitality workers worked to reopen the city and welcome visitors back. Bateman’s role during that era even earned a mention in Sean Payton’s book Home Team, as Payton describes New Orleans after arriving as head coach of the Saints in 2006.
Through it all, Bateman has also been a mentor to generations of hospitality professionals.
“I am so grateful to Charlie for his 50 years at Pat O’Brien’s,” said third-generation owner Shelly Oechsner Waguespack. “He has been a leading force behind our success and still has the same passion and love for the company. He has mentored so many people through the years, always encouraging them to be the best they can be. We appreciate him more than he knows.”
And after 50 years, Bateman isn’t retiring.
He continues to help lead Pat O’Brien’s alongside Waguespack and the next generation of the Pat O’Brien’s team, welcoming tourists and locals just as he has for the past five decades.
Pat O’Brien’s: Charlie Bateman’s 50th Anniversary — August 22
Pat O’Brien’s will honor Charlie Bateman’s 50th anniversary with an open-to-the-public celebration on Saturday, August 22, from 4:00 – 8:00 p.m.
Friends, customers, members of the New Orleans hospitality community and former coworkers — including some traveling back to New Orleans for the occasion — are invited to celebrate Bateman and five decades of memories.
