Like the beer and the Barq’s that once flowed from its myriad dockside restaurants, memories of West End’s storied past continue to flood in from readers transported by recent columns about its heyday as a New Orleans entertainment mecca.
That includes Gerry Ricks, who wrote in seeking information on a sailing-themed West End nightspot called the Anchor Inn, which she fondly remembers frequenting with her husband back in the early 1960s.
“We married in August 1965 and don’t really remember going after that,” Ricks wrote. “I have tried to find out what happened to the place and tried to locate pictures, but to no avail. Can you help, Mike?”
The short answer: Aye-aye. But it comes with a caveat.
A search for information
Owned by entrepreneur Frank Scariano, the Anchor Inn left enough of a (news)paper trail to help us piece together its relatively brief – and somewhat shady – history, but photos of the place in its full-masted glory are elusive.
Luckily, Ricks’ memory painted a vivid picture on its own.
“It was very nautical,” Ricks wrote. “They had an entire side of a fiberglass boat as a bar, and wood pilings with big ropes separated the bar and dance floor from the small tables that sat two people each. The dance floor and stage were in the back, with glass, floor-to-ceiling (windows) overlooking the lake marina. They had live music and great singers, and we could dance to the music of the day.”
Memorable though it was, the name of the place was not an original one. Unrelated establishments of the same appellation have operated in cities throughout the United States. That included one along the Vacherie Canal in St. John the Baptist Parish, one on Magazine Street in New Orleans and another in the French Quarter.
Original or not, the nautical theming would have been a natural for owner Scariano, who operated as a boat builder out of West End as early as the 1950s.
A product of the ’60s
Newspaper ads published in the early 1960s give the address for Scariano Boat Works as 7412 Lakeshore Drive, on the east side of the last remaining half-mile vestige of the New Basin Canal, across from its entrance into Orleans Marina.
Apparently eager to expand his business empire, Scariano applied in February 1961 for a liquor license for his new Anchor Inn, located at the adjoining address, 7410 Lakeshore Drive. An adjacent reception hall, the Anchor Room, would open later that year.
Overlooking the marina, the property covered some 3,250 square feet of space, with the ground floor divided equally between the bar and the reception hall, each of which covered about 1,625 square feet. A small kitchen served the reception hall.
Upstairs were a pair of offices, a bathroom and a small kitchen.
If Scariano had visions of smooth sailing, it wouldn’t last long. In October 1961, just eight months after filing for its liquor license, the Anchor Inn was raided by police.
Scariano was arrested and booked on charges of serving alcohol to minors.
The raid would be part of a string of legal headaches for Scariano’s business.
A bigger problem
On the afternoon of Jan. 17, 1964, some 100 New Orleans police officers and federal agents simultaneously raided 28 local homes and establishments as part of what it called Operation Handbook, a crackdown on illegal gambling.
Among them was the Anchor Inn. Scariano was brought in on charges of allowing gambling where alcoholic beverages were being sold.
By the following year, Scariano put the buildings housing the bar up for sale, although he continued operating it until at least November 1973, when his classified ads stopped.
It was a sign that things had gotten worse.
In May 1974, Scariano was indicted and accused of tax evasion. Scariano would be found guilty and, according to a newspaper report, sentenced to 90 days in jail on weekends, followed by three years of supervised probation and $10,000 in fines, plus court costs.
It was the end of the line for the Anchor Inn.
Over the decades that followed, a number of businesses have occupied the bar’s old address, including a luxury condominium building known as Villa Dal Mar in the early 2000s.
Today, in something of a validation of Scariano’s original vision, 7410 Lakeshore Drive is occupied by the Lakehouse – formerly Maison du Lac – a reception hall and event space with floor-to-ceiling windows affording a lovely view of the marina.
No word if they take bets.
Sources: The Times-Picayune archives.
Do you have a memory or photo of the Anchor Inn to share? Contact Mike Scott at moviegoermike@gmail.com.