Richard J. “Dick” Brennan Sr. (1931-March 14, 2015) was a

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

restaurateur who, along with his siblings in the 1970s, transformed

Commander's Palace Commander's Palace is a Louisiana Creole restaurant in New Orleans, Louisiana. History Commander's Palace was established in 1893 in the Garden District of Uptown New Orleans at 1403 Washington Ave. Emile Commander established a small saloon ...

“into the definitive modern Creole restaurant of its generation.” The

Brennan Family Restaurants The Brennan Family Restaurants are a group of restaurants owned or operated by family members of the late Owen Brennan (restaurateur), Owen Brennan of New Orleans, Louisiana. In the 1970s, there was a Brennan's Restaurant in Atlanta, Georgia. L ...

owned many restaurants including Mr. B's Bistro and

Dickie Brennan's Steakhouse Dickie Brennan's Steakhouse is a steakhouse located in the French Quarter of New Orleans, Louisiana. The restaurant is part of the Dickie Brennan Family of restaurants and has received various awards from publications such as '' Playboy Magazi ...

. Brennan and his nephew Pip were two founders of the Mardi Gras superkrewe

Krewe of Bacchus Krewe of Bacchus is a New Orleans Mardi Gras super krewe. History and formation The Krewe of Bacchus is an organization founded in 1968 by Owen Brennan, Jr. as one of the first modern "superkrewes," defined by their size, spectacular floats, an ...

Biography

Brennan was born in the Irish Channel. He graduated from St. Aloysius High School, now called

Brother Martin High School Brother Martin High School is a private, Catholic, all-male college preparatory school run by the United States Province of the Brothers of the Sacred Heart in New Orleans, Louisiana. It was established by the brothers in 1869 as St. Aloysius Col ...

. He played basketball well enough to be recruited by

Adolph Rupp Adolph Frederick Rupp (September 2, 1901 – December 10, 1977) was an American college basketball coach. He is ranked seventh in total victories by a men's NCAA Division I college coach, winning 876 games in 41 years of coaching at the Univ ...

at the

University of Kentucky The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a Public University, public Land-grant University, land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Kentu ...

but he chose to attend

Tulane University Tulane University, officially the Tulane University of Louisiana, is a private university, private research university in New Orleans, Louisiana. Founded as the Medical College of Louisiana in 1834 by seven young medical doctors, it turned into ...

and Clifford Wells before attending law school for two years.

References

{{Restaurateur-bio-stub American restaurateurs Louisiana cuisine 1931 births 2015 deaths Tulane Green Wave men's basketball players Tulane University Law School alumni Brother Martin High School alumni