NEW ORLEANS — With a pink building, Gene's Po-boy is hard to miss. But make no mistake, it will be missed when it closes in a matter of days.
“Fat's domino was one of the first persons to ever tip me. I was about 12-years-old. His son Antoine used to play pool behind us, there were pool tables here,” Gene Theriot said.
He was only 1-year-old when his family opened Gene’s Po-boy at the corner of Elysian Fields and Rampart in 1968. For more than half a century, they've been serving po-boys to the poor and the rich.
"What I'm going to miss most, the regular people and I'm going to miss the celebrities," Theriot said.
Some of those celebrities include the rapper Drake, who featured Gene's Po-boy in his video “In my feelings.” We asked Theriot if he was a fan of Drake.
“Yes. My nephew is more, but I know a few songs," he said.
Let's not overlook when the Simpsons gave Gene's a little love when Homer went on an eating spree in New Orleans in one of their episodes.
But forget the outside attention, New Orleans has always been about keeping it local. And locals want to know what will take the place of Gene’s Po-boy. The rumor has been condos, but Gene won't confirm.
"Well the guy I'm selling to, he's a meticulous, very conscientious person, really great guy like myself. He's going to wind up doing something, that I'm sure that everyone is going to be happy with. Change is always going to happen, but better change is what we look for, hope for," Theriot said.
We hope for the best for Theriot, who says without the long hours at the pink store, he's looking forward to spending more time with his family. Theriot says he may open a new shop if he finds the right property at the right price, and of course, at the right location.