Yes, Channing Tatum is coming back to New Orleans — and, yes, he’s ready to party, as his Bourbon Street club Saints & Sinners is on the verge of opening. But don’t run out to refresh your supply of singles just yet.
The Internet was abuzz today after the New York Post’s Page 6 column reported this morning that Tatum and longtime business partner Keith Kurtz will open the club for business this weekend. And there was more: “We’re told Tatum… has invited his (‘Magic Mike’) co-stars including Matt Bomer and Joe Manganiello and other Hollywood pals, as well as wife Jenna Dewan, to the grand opening — and we hear they’re planning a wild show in keeping with the venue’s name.”
Turns out, though, that the Post’s report might have been overplaying things a bit. In a brief email exchange today, Kurtz said the club, located at 627 Bourbon St., will not be holding a grand opening this weekend as reported.
So maybe a “soft” opening is in order? Could be — but Kurtz referred further questions to Tatum’s Los Angeles-based publicist, who has yet to respond to a request for comment.
Kurtz did stress, however, that Saints & Sinners, contrary to what various websites are reporting, isn’t a “Magic Mike” restaurant — a reference to the Steven Soderbergh film in which Tatum starred as a male stripper earlier this year. It’s not hard to see the confusion, though. Its website sells it as an establishment that “harkens back to the days when bordellos were where you went for heavenly company and a sinfully good time.”
It continues: “After countless childhood visits and several on-location film shoots, actor Channing Tatum, along with long-time friend and business partner Keith Kurtz, fell in love with the Big Easy’s laissez les bon temps rouler attitude and colorful history in a big way. Styled after the famous red-light district bordellos and burlesque halls of New Orleans’ Storyville era, Saints & Sinners is Tatum’s tribute to the city’s ribald, good-time reputation.”
The Saints & Sinners website also includes a menu, which includes what would appear to be an upscale take on standard late-night fare — burgers, po-boys, libations — as well as a selection of traditional Louisiana cuisine, including jambalaya, etouffee, and alligator tail.
Also on the menu: something called “CK’s Fat Madam Burger Challenge,” which involves a 4-pound burger with all the fixings. Finish it in 30 minutes or less and it’s free. (You’re on your own when it comes to the Alka-Seltzer.)
So back to the big question: Will you see Tatum performing a “Magic Mike” routine on-stage on Bourbon Street this weekend? Well, who’s to know? Sazeracs do funny things to fellows. But don’t count on it.
Tatum, who spent much of spring 2011 in town shooting the action-comedy “21 Jump Street,” revealed his plans for Saints & Sinners in an interview with The Times-Picayune in March.
“I love New Orleans, man. I love the spirit of New Orleans,” he said. “I think (’21 Jump Street’ co-star) Jonah (Hill) wrapped it up perfectly: He said it’s like the bad-kid island in ‘Pinocchio.’ The Bourbon Street area, Frenchmen, everything. It’s just such a vibrant place. I love it down there..
“I don’t think I’d ever open a bar anywhere else really, because I don’t want to try to get people there. But people come to New Orleans with a little bit of money in their pocket and they have one thing they want to do with it — and that’s spend it and party with it and go crazy. And I want to help facilitate that.”
The bar won’t be Tatum’s only tie to the region. Although he spent his teenage years in Tampa, Fla., he lived in the Pascagoula, Miss., area for much of his grade-school years. In addition, his father, Glenn Tatum, is from Metairie.
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