There are only a few cities in the world that could sustain a 24-hour bar, and New Orleans is one of them.
Sure, you’ve got spots like Igor’s and Ms. Mae’s, but those are more for the neighborhood crowd. Tucked inside the Quisby Hostel on St. Charles Avenue is Quartz Bar. Here, you’ll find a mix of locals and international travelers, and the concoction is magical.
“The idea behind Quartz is you can come in any time, get a good cocktail at a reasonable price,” said David Gindam, the Quisby’s general manager. “It’s a nice, clean environment. Our bathrooms aren’t filthy like some of the other places, and its an international crowd.”
The Quizby has always had a bar, but in two years, it never had a name.
“We felt like it deserved a name, it had like its own personality, Gindam said. “So we wanted to give it a name that people could kind of latch on to and recognize.”
The bar has lots of local influences too, with a selection of Zapp’s chips for snacks and local beers on tap.
One of the specialty cocktails is the “Booze Cleanse,” made with beet and carrot juices, ginger syrup and gin.
“It tastes just like something you’d get at a health food store but its a little boozy,” said Gindam.
Since the bar is 24-hours it can also double for a remote workplace. There are outlets next to every barstool, and no entrance fee to use the facilities at the hostel. With a diverse group of travelers always coming through the doors, it also makes for interesting networking and great conversations.
“We have our nights where there are 20-30 people hanging out drinking at the bar, three or four languages being spoken,” Gindam said. “People telling travel stories, people telling New Orleans stories, but it’s not every night. We’re just trying to make that a consistent thing, so it’s on people’s radar so they know they can come here and get a good cocktail day or night.”
