Who sets closing time, how a City alcohol permit and a bar card are won, what the bill and the team cost, and the nights that fill the city, for anyone running a club, lounge or bar in New Orleans.
What the State of Louisiana and the City of New Orleans ask of a licensed room, from the end of service to the door. Liquor licenses come from the Louisiana Office of Alcohol and Tobacco Control.
The City’s alcohol chapter sets no closing time for bars. Its only time rule is for Sundays (Sec. 10-405), which allows retail sales on Sundays as the City Code and zoning allow. Hours can still be set on an individual bar: the City Council can attach them as a condition when it approves a conditional use, a live entertainment application lists its days and hours of operation, and the Alcoholic Beverage Control Board can limit a venue’s hours and uses as a sanction. The Mayor or Council can close bars on election days or during riots or disturbances. A State closing-time rule wasn’t confirmed, and the zoning rules for particular districts weren’t read, so confirm what applies at your address.
Louisiana’s Responsible Vendor Program covers anyone authorized to sell or serve alcohol at a Class A General, Class A Restaurant or Class B permit holder, and door staff who check for underage or intoxicated guests. To be certified, a vendor’s staff hold a server permit valid for four years, finish training within 45 days of starting, and take a refresher at least every four years.
MoreThe permit belongs to the server and works at any Louisiana vendor while it lasts. A certified vendor can’t lose its permit for a first illegal sale by staff in a twelve-month period, except for flagrant or repeated violations. The State issues the card through approved providers.
Source: R.S. 26:934Anyone whose duties involve security at a bar, lounge or nightclub in the Vieux Carré must complete the Responsible Vendor course, including the security modules, within 45 days of starting and every two years after, on top of server training.
MoreThe same section requires use-of-force reports kept three years, bans the sleeper choke hold, bars weapons except for the owner or manager, and calls for a background check on application.
Source: City codeSelling to anyone under 21 is unlawful unless the guest shows an accepted ID, and a first conviction carries a fine of at least $100. Accepted: a current driver’s license with photo, in or out of state, a State special ID card with photo, a current passport or visa with photo and birth date, or a current military or federal ID with photo and birth date.
MoreA birth certificate, student ID or selective service card doesn’t count, and an expired, defaced or altered ID must be refused. No one under 18 may be on the premises of a bar except as State law allows.
Source: City codeA bar needs a State permit and a City alcoholic beverage outlet permit from the Department of Safety and Permits. A Class A General permit needs a permanent wet bar with a nonmovable sink and backbar and a bartender whose main job is preparing drinks. Yearly fees are $135 for beer, $500 for liquor and $300 for wine-only packages.
MoreThe permit is personal to the holder, a manager or the owner must be on the premises at all times, and if the State permit lapses the City permit is suspended. A manager’s permit is required too.
Source: City permit pageWhere a bar is allowed in its zoning district, it needs conditional use approval. The fee depends on building size, from $1,160 under 5,000 square feet to $4,640 at 75,000 or more. The City Planning Commission hears it, then the City Council votes.
MoreThe Commission must act within 60 days of its first public hearing. The Council has 60 days to act by motion and 90 more by ordinance. The Council can attach conditions, including hours.
Source: Conditional use pageLive music, comedy, dance clubs and DJ performances at a bar or restaurant need a permit from Safety and Permits, with a separate one for indoor and for outdoor. The yearly fee is $250, $500 or $750 by annual gross sales.
MoreThe application needs a noise abatement plan, a security and operations plan with exterior cameras, and a management plan that lists days and hours. Failing to follow the plans is a violation. Renewals are due April 1.
Source: City codeThe City’s alcohol chapter sets no closing time for bars. Its only time rule is for Sundays (Sec. 10-405). The Council can set hours on one bar through conditional use, and the Alcoholic Beverage Control Board can limit a venue’s hours and uses as a sanction.
MoreA State closing-time rule wasn’t confirmed. The Mayor or Council can also close bars on election days or in riots and disturbances.
Source: City codeCarrying or drinking from an open glass container on a street, sidewalk or park is banned in the area between Canal Street, Rampart Street, Esplanade Avenue and the Mississippi River. A venue that sells in glass there must post two copies of the section. The ban also reaches one block either side of a Mardi Gras parade route, from two hours before the start to two hours after the end.
MoreA venue that sells in glass or metal can’t knowingly let anyone leave carrying an open glass or metal container. Plastic isn’t covered by the sections read, and the code lets a Class A General permit sell takeout in a container with a lid or cover.
Source: City codeIn business areas the limit is 65 dBA from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. and 60 dBA from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m., read as an average over at least ten minutes at the property boundary. Industrial areas are 75 dBA, and homes and public spaces are lower.
MoreWhere a source reaches more than one kind of area, the stricter limit applies. A violation is a misdemeanor, and each day counts separately.
Source: Noise codeIn the Vieux Carré Entertainment district the limit applies at all hours: 10 decibels above ambient noise, or 60 decibels, whichever is higher. The reading can be taken as close as 25 feet from the source.
MoreA temporary permit for short-term sound costs $20 and covers up to four occasions or a six-week span. Parades, permitted concerts and jazz funerals are exempt.
Source: Noise codeAn alcohol outlet needs a sidewalk use permit to put benches or seating on a public sidewalk. Selling or drinking in the parking or driveway area of a licensed venue is barred except during carnival parade season.
MoreFees and season for the sidewalk permit weren’t confirmed.
Source: City codeIt is the City’s liaison to the nightlife industry, the community and City agencies. Its programs include free neighborhood conflict resolution through Mediate NOLA, harm reduction workshops, musician loading zones and discounted downtown parking for hospitality workers.
MoreIt released a 2025 strategic plan for businesses, workers and cultural spaces in the after-dark economy. The plan itself wasn’t read.
Source: City of New OrleansSelling alcohol takes a State permit from the Office of Alcohol and Tobacco Control, a City permit from Safety and Permits, and zoning approval, often a conditional use for a bar. These are the steps from the City’s pages and code.
Confirm alcohol sales are allowed there with the City’s property lookup. Safety and Permits must approve the location under the zoning ordinance and building code before it issues a permit, and alcohol outlets are barred in residential districts with limited exceptions.
Source: City permit pageSource: City codeA bar allowed in its zoning district needs conditional use approval. File with the City Planning Commission, which hears it on the second Tuesday of the month, then the City Council votes. Neighbors get public and mailed notice.
Source: Conditional use pageSource: Zoning ordinanceThe State’s bar permit is the Class A General from the Office of Alcohol and Tobacco Control, which runs a criminal background check on applicants, officers and owners of more than 5%. The City permit can’t issue without it. ATC fees weren’t confirmed.
Source: Louisiana Office of Alcohol and Tobacco ControlSource: City codeSubmit through the City’s One Stop app with a signed lease, site and floor plans, a Bar Use or Restaurant Use standards form and tax clearances, and pay the fees. Applicants can’t have a felony in the prior five years or a misdemeanor involving moral turpitude in five years.
Source: City permit pageSource: City codeSafety and Permits issues a 90-day temporary permit within ten calendar days of a complete application, if the use is already allowed and the applicant has no alcohol or public safety violation in the past 365 days. The application needs the State alcohol and health permits, State fire marshal approval and the district councilmember’s approval.
Source: City codeEvery permit holder needs a manager’s permit, and a manager or the owner must be on the premises at all times.
Source: Manager’s permit pageSource: City codeMusic, DJs, comedy or dancing need a live entertainment permit, indoor and outdoor separately, with noise abatement, security and management plans.
Source: City codeA denied applicant can appeal to the Alcoholic Beverage Control Board within 10 days. The Board also hears suspensions and revocations. After a revocation no City permit issues for that premises for a year.
Source: City permit pageSource: City codeIssued by the Louisiana Office of Alcohol and Tobacco Control
General information, not legal advice. Laws and license conditions change and vary by venue. Confirm with the Louisiana Office of Alcohol and Tobacco Control or the City before acting on it.
How a table’s bill adds up once tax and a service charge are on it, and what guests pay at the door.
| Minimum spend | $1,000.00 |
|---|---|
| Service charge 20%, added by the venue | $200.00 |
| State sales tax 5% of both lines | $60.00 |
| Guest pays | $1,260.00 |
| Tip the guest chooses to add | No tax |
Louisiana’s state sales tax is 5%. The parish and City rates apply on top of it and weren’t confirmed from an official table, so the bill shows the state line only. Check the full rate for your address before you print a bill.
Source: Louisiana Department of RevenueMeals sold by restaurants and clubs are sales at retail under the City code, and ice used in drinks is taxable.
Source: Sales tax codeCity admissions, covers and dues are taxable as sales of services.
Source: Sales tax codeThe City levy doesn’t apply to a gratuity shown as a separate item on the bill and passed in full to service staff. A service charge the venue keeps isn’t covered by that exemption, so the example taxes the service charge. The State’s rule on service charges wasn’t confirmed.
Source: Sales tax codeUnder the federal rule, a service charge that becomes part of the venue’s gross receipts isn’t a tip.
Source: Service charge ruleRough estimates for tickets and bottle-service tables, from public listings and venues’ own pages.
$10 to $30
Typically about $20
No New Orleans club publishes a night price on its own site. Generalised from the lowest club night tickets published in comparable US cities: Nashville and Atlanta, $10 to $30, and Chicago door cover, $10 to $20.
$400 to $900
A typical table, about $500
No New Orleans club publishes a table minimum on its own site. Generalised from table minimums and packages published in comparable US cities: Houston from $300, and Nashville and Atlanta, $400 to $1,000, before tax and tip.
Figures are estimates from the sources and samples listed. They change often and may be wrong. Check with the venue or the relevant authority before relying on them. Venues and events named here aren’t affiliated with VenueStack and haven’t endorsed this guide.
Hourly wages for the roles a night runs on, and the rules on tips.
| Role | Range, low to high | Median |
|---|---|---|
| Bartenders$7.25 to $21.44 | $10.21 | |
| Servers$7.25 to $20.39 | $8.00 | |
| Hosts$8.33 to $16.60 | $11.09 | |
| Security and door$11.34 to $23.56 | $15.50 | |
| Cooks$11.06 to $21.09 | $14.68 | |
| Managers$20.39 to $61.24 | $34.52 |
Minimum wage $7.25 an hourSource: DOL minimum wage
Bar: lowest to highest wage reported. Dot: median. Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics
Louisiana has no state minimum wage law, so employers covered by the Fair Labor Standards Act pay the federal $7.25 an hour. The pages read show no separate City minimum wage.
Source: DOL minimum wageA tipped employee earning more than $30 a month in tips can be paid a $2.13 cash wage, with a tip credit of up to $5.12.
Source: DOL tipped wagesAn employer can’t require staff to share tips with managers or supervisors or keep them. With a tip credit, a pool is limited to employees who customarily and regularly receive tips.
Source: Tip pooling ruleA service charge that becomes part of the venue’s gross receipts isn’t a tip under the federal rule. Card fees taken from tips weren’t confirmed.
Source: Service charge rule
The nights that fill a room, or empty it, month by month.
The morning after New Year’s Eve.
Official siteTwelfth Night opens the season that runs to Fat Tuesday, with parades building to the busiest trade weeks of the year.
Official siteA long weekend.
Fat Tuesday ends Carnival. Parades run on the weekends and daily before it, and the biggest trade weeks of the year follow.
Official siteA long weekend.
A bar night whatever weekday it lands on.
Free daytime music on more than 20 stages brings big crowds to the Quarter’s bars.
Official siteTwo Thursday to Sunday weekends at the Fair Grounds, with after-shows and late-night rooms every night.
Official siteA long weekend and the start of the summer visitor season.
When it falls on a weekend, the federal holiday is observed on the nearest weekday.
When it falls on a weekend, the federal holiday is observed on the nearest weekday.
No city-wide dates
The largest LGBTQ+ event in the city, ending in a parade, and the heaviest weekend for French Quarter and Marigny LGBTQ+ bars.
Official siteThe last long weekend of summer, and the weekend of Southern Decadence.
Game-day crowds around the Superdome, in the CBD and the Warehouse District.
A long weekend.
Game-night crowds downtown.
Costume parties run the weekend before or after.
When it falls on a weekend, the federal holiday is observed on the nearest weekday.
A long weekend, with visitors in town.
When it falls on a weekend, the federal holiday is observed on the nearest weekday.
One of the year’s biggest ticketed nights.
New Orleans’s nightlife districts and the rooms each is known for.
Bourbon Street's bars and clubs and the city's historic entertainment venues.
Live music on Frenchmen Street and a vibrant arts and culture scene.
Rooftop bars, upscale hotels and cocktail lounges.
Ranked by monthly Google searches in the United States for each venue’s name with the city, as Ahrefs estimates them. Few rooms publish a capacity, so this measures demand, not size. Only rooms that their own site or the tourism board shows open are listed.
| Rank | Venue | Nights | Music | Published price | Monthly searches |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Oz New OrleansClubFrench Quarter and Bourbon StreetSource: Search estimatesSource: Oz New Orleans | Fridays and Saturdays | Drag shows, then DJs | Not listed | 900 |
| 2 | The MetropolitanClubDowntown and the CBD · 310 Andrew Higgins BlvdSource: Search estimatesSource: The Metropolitan | Not listed | Not listed | Not listed | 300 |
| 3 | The Rabbit HoleClubSource: Search estimatesSource: The Rabbit Hole | Rebirth Tuesdays | Not listed | Not listed | 100 |
| 4 | Bourbon Pub and ParadeClubFrench Quarter and Bourbon Street · 801 Bourbon StSource: Search estimatesSource: Bourbon Pub and Parade | Fri and Sat to 5 a.m. | Dancing upstairs | Not listed | 90 |
| 5 | Vintage Rock ClubClubDowntown and the CBDSource: Search estimatesSource: Vintage Rock Club | Not listed | Throwback nightclub | Not listed | 70 |
| 6 | Ohm LoungeLoungeDowntown and the CBD · 601 Tchoupitoulas StreetSource: Search estimatesSource: Ohm Lounge | Fri and Sat from 10 p.m. | Not listed | Not listed | 60 |
Venues named here aren’t affiliated with VenueStack and haven’t endorsed this guide. Details come from each venue’s own pages and can change; a venue can ask us to correct or remove its entry.
Who lives in and visits the city. These describe New Orleans, not any venue’s guests.
Sell tickets, take table bookings with deposits, run the guest list and check guests in at the door, in one place. Built for clubs, lounges and bars.
The City’s alcohol chapter sets no closing time for bars. Its only time rule is for Sundays (Sec. 10-405). Hours can be set on an individual bar through zoning conditions the Council attaches, a live entertainment application or an Alcoholic Beverage Control Board sanction. A State closing-time rule wasn’t confirmed, so check your address.
It is the server permit under the Responsible Vendor Program. It is valid for four years, training is completed within 45 days of starting work, and a refresher is taken at least every four years. The permit belongs to the server and is valid at any Louisiana vendor while it lasts.
Louisiana’s state rate is 5%. The parish and City rates apply on top of it and should be checked for your address. Meals sold by restaurants and clubs are taxable, and so are City admissions and covers.
A bar needs a State permit from the Office of Alcohol and Tobacco Control, a City alcoholic beverage outlet permit from Safety and Permits through the One Stop app, and zoning approval, which for a bar is usually a conditional use. A denied applicant can appeal to the Alcoholic Beverage Control Board within 10 days.
City permits are $135 a year for beer, $500 for liquor and $300 for wine-only packages, and a manager’s permit is $100. Conditional use costs $1,160 to $4,640 by building size. State fees weren’t confirmed.
Open glass containers are banned on the street between Canal, Rampart, Esplanade and the river, and a venue can’t knowingly let anyone leave carrying an open glass or metal container. Plastic isn’t covered by the sections read.
In business areas the limit is 65 dBA from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. and 60 dBA from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m., read over at least ten minutes at the property boundary. In the Vieux Carré Entertainment district it is 10 decibels above ambient or 60 decibels, whichever is higher, at all hours. A temporary sound permit costs $20.
Yes, for live music, comedy, dance clubs and DJ performances at a bar or restaurant, with a separate permit for indoor and for outdoor. The yearly fee is $250, $500 or $750 by annual gross sales, and the application needs noise, security and management plans.
Louisiana has no state minimum wage, so the federal $7.25 an hour applies. In the New Orleans metro area, BLS data for May 2025 puts the median bartender wage at $10.21 an hour, including tips reported as wages.
The federal tipped cash wage of $2.13 an hour applies, with a tip credit of up to $5.12, for employees who earn more than $30 a month in tips.
A current driver’s license with photo, a State special ID card with photo, or a current passport, visa, or military or federal ID with photo and birth date. A birth certificate, student ID or selective service card doesn’t count, and expired or altered IDs must be refused.
The City levy doesn’t apply to a gratuity shown as a separate item and passed in full to service staff. A service charge the venue keeps isn’t covered by that exemption. The State’s rule wasn’t confirmed.
VenueStack publishes this guide for general information. We take care to keep it accurate and list our sources and review dates, but we can’t guarantee it is complete, current or correct, and we aren’t responsible for decisions made on it. Nothing here is legal, tax or financial advice. Prices, minimums and wages are estimates from the samples described and don’t represent any particular venue. Venues, events and organisations named here aren’t affiliated with VenueStack and haven’t endorsed this guide.
Data gathered in October 2026. Spotted something out of date? Tell us.
New YorkNew York, United States
Closing time, getting an SLA liquor license, temporary permits, the noise code, sales tax on service charges, door staff, wages and the year’s big nights.
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MiamiFlorida, United States
The state closing default and city hours, quota and restaurant liquor licenses, City of Miami and Miami Beach business licenses, sales and resort tax, door licensing, wages and the year’s big nights.
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ChicagoIllinois, United States
Closing times and the Late Hour license, the City and state liquor licenses, the amusement license and tax, BASSET training, sales tax, the tipped wage and the year’s big nights.
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