NEW ORLEANS – Gris-Gris, the Lower Garden District restaurant in New Orleans opened by chef Eric Cook and his wife, Robyn Cook, announced on July 6 that it will permanently close at the end of July after seven years on Magazine Street.
The owners announced the decision in a post on the restaurant’s Instagram account, describing it as “a well thought out business decision.”
“Of all the posts we have made (and we have made a lot), this one is the toughest,” the Cooks said in their post. “We have decided to close Gris-Gris at the end of July. This is a decision that has come with a tremendous amount of emotion, and our hearts are broken.”
The restaurant owners said they will share additional details later this week and plan to remain open through the end of July, giving customers what the owners described as one last chance to “dance at the funeral.”
Gris-Gris: A Magazine Street Fixture
Opened in 2018, Gris-Gris quickly established itself as one of Magazine Street’s best-known neighborhood restaurants, building a reputation for contemporary Louisiana cuisine rooted in New Orleans and Southern traditions. The restaurant occupies a renovated historic building at the corner of Magazine and Josephine streets and became known for dishes including its fried oyster BLT, shrimp and grits, gumbo, chicken and dumplings and weekend brunch.
Eric Cook, a New Orleans native and Marine Corps veteran, graduated from the John Folse Culinary Institute before serving as executive chef at several prominent local restaurants, including Bourbon House, Tommy’s Cuisine and American Sector Restaurant + Bar. He later expanded his restaurant business by opening Saint John in the French Quarter and published his first cookbook, Modern Creole: A Taste of New Orleans Culture and Cuisine, in 2024.
In their announcement, Eric and Robyn Cook thanked current and former employees, customers and the New Orleans community.
“To our family at Gris-Gris, both past and present, thank you for all the memories,” the post said. “We had a lot of good times together and are proud of everything we did for our neighborhood, friends and the City of New Orleans.”
The Cooks did not elaborate on the reasons for the closure beyond describing it as a business decision.
