Dooky Chase’s Restaurant
While Dooky Chase’s Restaurant may not look like Tiana’s Palace, the story behind the restaurant was one of the big inspirations for the plot of “The Princess and the Frog.” Leah Chase was a black chef in New Orleans who married Edgar “Dooky” Chase Jr., a jazz musician. Together they ran Dooky Chase’s, an integrated restaurant, with Leah providing a menu that was otherwise primarily only available in all-white establishments. Both the restaurant and the Chase family were an important part of the Civil Rights movement, and Leah Chase served as an inspiration for Tiana.