On the First Y'at of Xmas
Benny Grunch's holiday hit "The 12 Yats of Christmas" is a song that only locals can understand due to its references to beloved New Orleans businesses and colloquialisms. The tune emerged in the 1990s, and some of the references "ain't dere no more," as Benny Grunch puts it. For those who weren't here to experience these things, this is what "The Yats" were talking about.
12. On the twelfth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me, a dozen Manuel's tamales
Mexican-born Manuel Hernandez started a hot tamale business in 1932 with a cart posted at Carrollton Boulevard and Canal Street. The operation grew into a window service eatery at 4709 S. Carrollton Ave. that was eventually run by Manuel's daughter Frances. The building was inundated with flood water from Hurricane Katrina and sold to new owners. While all parties involved hoped to revive the family business, it proved too difficult.
11. On the eleventh day at Veterans Highway, tryin' ta cross the street with eleven Schwegmann bags
Schwegmann Brothers Giant Supermarkets' first location at the intersection of St. Claude Avenue and Elysian Fields Avenue opened in 1946 by John G. Schwegmann. The second store opened in 1950 at 2701 Airline Hwy. was the largest supermarket in the nation. Schwegmann's grew to 18 stores over the next 50 years and heralded many innovations in the grocery business, including anti-price fixing campaigns, everyday low prices, and in-store utility bill payment services. Customers could get a drink at the bar during their shopping trip.
Due to an influx of non-local competition, Schwegmann's was sold to Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Company in 1997, who declared bankruptcy on the brand and ceased operation in 1999.
10. I used'ta be at Kaiser now I'm woikin' down da street at da Tenneco Chalmette Refinery
The Kaiser Aluminum Corporation plant was built in 1951 and was the largest aluminum smelter in the world for some time. It shuttered in 1983.
The Tenneco Chalmette Refinery started operations in 1915 as a kerosene manufacturing plant then transitioned to oil refining as automobiles and electricity grew. Tenneco was only one of the numerous operators of the plant as Bay Petroleum, Tennessee Gas, and ExxonMobil also operated it at times. It has been owned by PBF Energy since 2015.
9. On the ninth day of Christmas, we drove down Delery in da Lower Nint' Ward
8. On da eighth day of Christmas, me and Rosalie ate by ya mama's
7. Cemetery traffic got backed up to Metairie at the Seventeenth Street Canal
The 17th Street Canal was created to drain swampy areas between Lake Pontchartrain and the city of Carrollton (later annexed by New Orleans). The levee atop the canal wall broke during Hurricane Katrina, flooding Lakeview homes. An erosion mitigation project started in mid-2024 to re-strengthen the wall of the canal.
6. On da sixth day 'a Christmas, we stopped at K&B's for a six pack 'a Dixie
Gustave Katz and Sydney J. Besthoff partnered to create a drug store called K&B at 732 Canal St. in 1905. The successful store grew into a chain that saw the iconic purple logo spread across the Gulf Coast. K&B offered its own brand of items, including liquor and beer. K&B was sold to Rite Aid in 1997, which ended up shuttering the brand.
Dixie Beer started brewing at 2401 Tulane Ave. in 1907 under the helm of Valentine Merz. Dixie Brewing briefly sold to Coy International before selling to Joseph and Kendra Bruno in 1985, and it went bankrupt in 1989. It was revived in the 1990s with new specialty beers including Blackened Voodoo. Hurricane Katrina ruined the brewery, and production was moved to Wisconsin. Tom Benson purchased the majority of Dixie Brewing in 2017, and his widow Gayle Benson worked to open a brand new brewing facility in New Orleans East in 2020. The name Dixie would be changed to Faubourg Brewing Company some months later.
While the new sprawling brewery was popular with beer lovers, it was shuttered in 2024 after a merger with Made By The Water.
5. On the fifth day of Christmas, we stopped at A&G for frrried onion rrrings
Bob Atkinson and Clifton Ganus opened the first A&G Restaurant in 1932 at 2627 Canal St. There were 10 A&G Restaurants around New Orleans in five years time, serving Creole barbecued pork, ham sandwiches, and hot dogs. Their first cafeteria-style restaurant opened in 1950, which was followed by several more in the city, Metairie, Houma, and Lafayette.
4. On the fourth day I said, "OK, let's get a Christmas tree before ya drive me nuts"
3. On da thoid day' a Christmas, we stopped at McKenzie's for three French breads
Henry McKenzie's Prytania Street bakery was struggling in 1936 due to the ravages of the Great Depression, so he sold it to Donald Entringer Sr. for just $83. Entringer was able to save the bakery and grow the brand with his popular pastries such as turtles, jelly rolls, and buttermilk drops. There were dozens of McKenzie's Pastry Shoppes around the New Orleans metro, yet all of them shuttered in 2000 due to bankruptcy. Some of the stores reopened months later but did not last long. Tastee Donuts purchased the iconic logo and pastry recipes in 2001, so New Orleanians can still enjoy the famous pastries, including McKenzie's king cake.
2. In da Christmas Picayune, I seen it dere in Section E, a Tujague's recipe
Tujague's Restaurant opened in 1856 at 811 Decatur St. by Guillaume and Marie Abadie Tujague. The restaurant took over the former Begue's Exchange at 823 Decatur St. in 1914, and it flourished there for over 100 years. Tujague's second-generation owner Mark Latter chose to move into a new space at 429 Decatur St. in 2020 due to the lease expiring. Tujague's is the second oldest restaurant in New Orleans.
1. On da foist day'a Christmas, ma Mawmaw gave to me, a crawfish' dey caught in Arabi
