Opened in 1983 by restaurateur JoAnn Clevenger, the restaurant was housed in a yellow townhouse located at 1413 Upperline Street in Uptown New Orleans near the St. Charles Streetcar Line.
Though Clevenger was not a chef, she developed Upperline's signature dish of fried green tomatoes with shrimp rémoulade, and inspired many other menu items.
[1][2] During the 1960s and 1970s Clevenger worked as a bartender on Bourbon Street and became involved in the bohemian scene in New Orleans, meeting playwright Tennessee Williams, photographer Lee Friedlander, artist Noel Rockmore, and other well-known figures.
Led Zeppelin lead singer Robert Plant, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, novelist and philanthropist MacKenzie Scott, and relatives of The New York Times executive editor and New Orleans native Dean Baquet—among many other well-known figures—dined at the restaurant.
"[3] Upperline's roast duck was featured as one of chef Simon Majumdar's favorite dishes in Season 4, Episode 10 of the television program The Best Thing I Ever Ate.