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Our co-founders Mark and Meagen got married on the island of Martinique, where they first discovered the tradition of rhum arrangé, the practice of infusing rum with local citrus, fruits, botanicals, and spices. After several years, travels, experience, one small child, and lots more rum tasting, the memories of their experiences in the Caribbean and beautiful infused rums would be the first inspirations for Happy Raptor Distilling.
Back in New Orleans, their best friend and next door neighbor Peter joined forces to officially create the Happy Raptor team. Together, they also came up with the name of their new company, in honor of Mark and Meagen's son who shrieked like a velociraptor from our favorite copyrighted dinosaur movie. Let's just say that life...um...finds a way. |
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On February 14, 2020 - one month before the coronavirus pandemic shutdown - we opened our doors for the first uptown parade of the Mardi Gras season. Our historic little spot at 1512 Carondelet Street in Central City (one block off St. Charles Avenue) was once owned by the humane society in the early 1920s and served as an auto-mechanic's garage for several decades throughout the 20th century. Reborn as a floral design store, a nightclub, and a restaurant storage facility, Happy Raptor Distilling is the start of a new era for this familiar staple of the neighborhood. Throughout our renovations, we worked to maintain the original integrity of the building wherever possible. Among our efforts, we kept and simply replaced the original garage door, replaced the dilapidated corrugated metal walls and skylights, and maintained all the original beams. Even the bar is made from salvaged wood taken from the original bar in the space. Cheers to a new era for our little corner of the city.
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