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The Story Behind the Name

Faubourg Sign.png

Faubourg is locally pronounced: /foh-berg/ or /faw-berg/.

The literal definition, from the French language, is "Suburb," but that doesn't tell the whole story. 

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In the beginning, the area now known as the French Quarter was the city of New Orleans. The first municipal expansion of the city created the first "suburb," known as Faubourg Marigny. After that, several more expansions, named after the plantations that were subdivided, created Faubourg St. John, Faubourg Bouligny, Faubourg St. Roch, etc. Faubourg Wines is located in Faubourg Marigny. 

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Over time, the word "Faubourg" has evolved in New Orleans to simply mean Neighborhood.

When we opened Faubourg Wines in 2012, we set out to create a useful, community-focused space. Not just any typical, transactional wine store, but a true neighborhood wine shop. Hence, "Faubourg Wines." 

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In November 2020, the beer brewer formerly known as Dixie, now owned by the Benson family, changed it's name to Faubourg Brewery/Faubourg Beer.

 

Unlike the other, smaller companies adopting the Faubourg namesake, Faubourg Brewery used the word Faubourg for the purpose of selling and marketing alcoholic beverages, which we had already been doing in New Orleans for 8 years, at that point. 

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They knew it was immoral and illegal, but they also knew that a small business like Faubourg Wines couldn't possibly afford to wage a legal battle against a large company with such wealthy owners. Today, Gayle Benson's net worth is estimated to be about 3.8 Billion.

 

And no, Faubourg Wines is not connected in any way to Faubourg Beer. It's an unfortunate circumstance.

 

Faubourg Brewery is not located in a former Creole Faubourg. 

 

We do not carry their beer. 

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