Imbibe 75 Place to Watch: Junebug

New Orleans

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“We always start with the neighborhood and the building and getting to know the place,” says Michael Babin, who founded the Neighborhood Restaurant Group in 1997. Most of his restaurants and bars have been in the Washington D.C., metro area—Junebug is their third in New Orleans, a city Babin has always loved.

He and his team acquired a historic warehouse and former parking garage in the city’s Warehouse District, about a 10-minute walk upriver of the French Quarter. In doing their research they made a discovery: In the space upstairs was the last recording studio run by the legendary Cosimo Matassa, a Rock & Roll Hall of Famer. (Lee Dorsey’s “Working in the Coal Mine” and Robert Parker’s “Barefootin’” were both recorded there, and New Orleans funk took root here with bands like The Meters.)

Junebug has honored this musical legacy, with ceiling lamps crafted from old Victrola horns, and wall sconces from cymbals. The cocktail menu sustains the theme, with many drinks offered in two variations: a more spirits-forward “A-Side” and a lighter, more refreshing “B-Side.”

“The idea was to give people options—what are they up for tonight? If they want to keep it more low-key, then we’re going to give them some really enticing and interesting options for that.”

Click here to read more about some of 2026’s other Imbibe 75 People and Places to Watch.