There will be a new entertainment venue close to Decatur and Frenchman street with plans to have a restaurant, music club, pool and micro boutique hotel. Groundbreaking is planned to occur this spring according to Big Freedia who will be opening the venue. Big Freedia would like to have Hotel Freedia opened for the 2024 Mardi Gras season.
The property will be developed by the property owner, developer Zach Kupperman along with creating the concept with Freedia. Hotel Freedia will be a very small hotel with only five rooms. The remainder of the venue will be a music club, bar with food and an outdoor pool party space. The hotel will serve as the home base for Freedia’s live performances and will also host other musicians both locally and nationally.
“The hotel is not the economic driver of it. It’s primarily a music venue and a pool party spot. Think of a country club with a music venue,” says Reid Martin, Freedia’s manager and partner.
Freedia came up with the idea during the pandemic when he was not able to go out and work. He spent a majority of his time cooking, and became interested in opening a restaurant. “And I always had a dream of opening a hotel, so it just kind of came together that way,” says Freedia.
Speaking of cooking, the food Freedia cooked at home during the pandemic will inspire the dishes served at the 60- seat restaurant at Hotel Freedia. Although Freedia can cook, they will be hiring an executive chef and someone who will run the restaurant.
The 4,800 square-foot two story building will be developed into the new space. The restaurant and music venue will be on the ground floor while the hotel rooms will be on the second and the pool and clubhouse will be on the piece of property that once housed a garage next to the building.
“There are a lot of operational challenges we’re going to face by doing so much on such a small parcel. We’ve been working on it for more than a year, but we still have a lot to do,” says Martin.
