When Sal Impastato handed over the keys of the Napoleon House this past spring, it was an emotional moment.
Selling the business to restauranteur Ralph Brennan had been a difficult decision because the building had been in Sal’s family for generations – first as a grocery, then as a bar.
While clearing out things that accumulated over the past century, Sal took a break to reflect on his family's tenure at the corner of St. Louis and Chartres Street.Click to for a history of the Napoleon House and the Impastato family.
The Napoleon House got its name from an apocryphal tale involving New Orleans Mayor Nicholos Girod and French Quarter pirates.
The legend goes thatGirodwould finance the pirates to kidnap Napoleon Bonaparte from his exile on Saint Helena in the Atlantic Ocean and bring him to live in New Orleans.
But when news came that Napoleon died, the plans came to naught.
Sal Impastato discusses the three family portraits that hang on the wall in the Napoleon House.
This interview was conducted by Mark Cave for the Historic New Orleans Collection.
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