Buck's Place-Tavern/Ruby's Roadhouse

When Walter Smith bought this lot in 1929 at a Sheriff’s sale for $100 it was unimproved. In 1939, Francis ‘Buck’ Burrell bought the property for $800. Terms of the sale required that Burrell ‘keep the buildings insured’ for the duration of his mortgage.  With his wife Mary Cousin, Burrell, a Black man, opened a music venue to employ Black musicians and to serve the Black community. According to jazz historian Karl Koenig, Buck’s Place became a destination for early jazz musicians, sharing them with the Dew Drop Social and Benevolent Hall (1895) down the street in the 400 block of Lamarque and at the Sons and Daughters of Peace Benevolent Association (1898) which was, before it burned in the 1960s, in the 500 block of Marigny Avenue. Playing at northshore venues, both Black and White, were local musicians and jazz greats like Papa Celestin, Bunk Johnson, Buddy Manaday, Kid Ory, Buddy Petit and, particularly, George Lewis (born Joseph Zenon) whose Mandeville roots closely align him in oral histories with Buck’s Place and later, Buck’s Tavern. The name change to Buck’s Tavern may have occurred when Mable Randle leased the venue from Burrell in the 1950s; a business arrangement that endured for almost 3 decades. At some point the tavern was referred to as Mabel’s Brown Derby.

The sale of the property in 1981 to Edward Deano, Jr.  and Patrick Clayton brought new names and a different music scene to the forefront with Ruby’s Rendezvous, then Ruby’s Roadhouse. Here a mix of live acts playing jazz, rock, country, and the blues took center stage. Decades on, the historic roadhouse has recently been shored up and gently renovated for the continued enjoyment of music lovers of all stripes.