Dead Poet Bar to open where Shady's, The Levee, and The Bandit all failed

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A poet-themed bar is opening next month in the LSU-area East Boyd Plaza, filling the space vacated most recently by The Bandit.

The bar—called Dead Poet: Beer, Cocktails and Music—will pay homage to deceased songwriters, poets, and comedians, ranging from Freddie Mercury to Tupac Shakur, through a series of indoor murals by local artist Ellen Ogden. Business partners Remi de Matteo, Rusty White and Chuck Brechtel have been working on the concept for the past seven months, hoping to cater to LSU students living in the Burbank corridor.

“There’s been a shift in residential living that’s closer to the Burbank area, away from Tigerland,” says de Matteo, who also co-owns Hayride Scandal and previously managed The Bulldog. “We thought it was the perfect time to bring something new and fresh to the LSU student body.”

The venue will feature what de Matteo calls a “hybrid space,” with tables and chairs for patrons to sit down and drink as well as a dance floor and stage where live music acts will perform. Drink offerings include 34 beers on draft, frozen and draft margaritas from The Velvet Cactus, which White co-owns, and draft cocktails developed by Hayride Scandal, along with more standard options.

Dead Poet could open as early as the weekend of the Alabama-LSU game or as late as mid-November, de Matteo says, a couple weeks later than originally planned.

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