(New Orleans, LA) Following the gang-style killing of a 19 year old outside the bar on Monday night, Jason Blitch owner of Friar Tuck's Bar & Grill announced on Tuesday morning that the iconic bar would be closing effective immediately. During much of the last half of the 20th century Friar Tuck's was the premiere college bar in the city and maintained a loyal following with graduates for decades. The bar was also the inspiration for the Krewe of Tucks which began as a merry assemblage of college mates in 1969 commemorating their favorite watering hole.
In the years following Katrina, the environs around Friar Tuck's have become unsafe. Recent charges have been raised over underage drinking and increased violence in the area was already making the closure of the bar a distinct possibility. The closing of the bar ends nearly 50 years of the bar's operations.