NEW ORLEANS– The old historic and iconic sign at Commander’s Palace is coming down, and a new LED one is going up!

Owners of Commander’s Palace, Lally Brennan and Ti Martin at Commander’s say the old sign’s been around since sometime in the 1950’s or possibly the 1960’s.

“We can’t believe it. We couldn’t get the old school light bulbs anymore, so we had to change the sign,” they said.

For many it has been a tradition to take your photo underneath the historic sign.

“We’ve been talking about everything that’s happened under the sign. So many people have made many memories here. You know not only memories dining in the restaurant, but many memories have happened outside,” Brennan said.

They remember the time one of the Saints head coaches surprised his wife with a red Porsche underneath the sign for her birthday. Then they also remember the time when Ella Brennan, the matriarch of New Orleans cuisine passed away, and the lights went out on the sign to pay tribute to her.

The old sign was made out of sheet metal, and the new sign is made out of aluminum and has all LED bulbs.

“We made it look as similar as we can. It just looks like the sign was at the spa, well-rested,” they jokingly said.

So where’s the iconic sign going?

“Our friends at Southern Food & Beverage Museum down the street will get it. We wanted to find a home for the sign. Our dear friends at SOFAB said they wanted it,” Martin said.

“So as a museum we collect historic artifacts and food of all kinds, so it is rare that we get something that is incredible sort of out of the blue like this,” Brent Rosen, CEO of Southern Food & Beverage Museum said.

For both Ti & Lally having the old sign come down is bittersweet.

“It is good. We have to move on in 2020 with this new sign,” Brennan said.

“Commander’s is always evolving and pushing forward, but in this case a little past and future come together,” Martin said.

For Commander’s Palace, it is like saying goodbye to an old friend, but they’re excited for the new sign to light up our lives.