Edward Baquet

Edward Joseph Baquet Sr. (March 26, 1922 – September 21, 1993; pronounced bah-KAY) was an American restaurateur and civil rights activist. He owned Eddie's, a Louisiana Creole cuisine restaurant in Gentilly, New Orleans. He openly supported desegregation in the 1960s.

Early life Following service in the United States Army during World War II, Baquet went to work for the United States Postal Service as a mail carrier. Shortly thereafter, he began working evenings as a manager at Paul Gross Chicken Coop, which was a restaurant owned by his aunt Ada Baquet Gross and her husband, the restaurant being located in the Tremé neighborhood of New Orleans. Baquet first learned the restaurant business through his work there.

Baquet's family was prominent among the Louisiana Creole people. His uncle and aunt's restaurant, Paul Gross Chicken Coop, was one of a handful of restaurants owned by people of African-American descent in New Orleans at the time. Two of Baquet's uncles, George Baquet and Achille Baquet, were notable Jazz musicians.

Baquet's son Wayne Baquet Sr. trained as a businessperson and subsequently entered the restaurant business with his parents. At the son's encouragement, Baquet and his family opened secondary locations such as Eddie's Fried Chicken and Hot Sausage.

Li'l Dizzy's Cafe displays a portrait of Edward Baquet.

Baquet's son, Dean Baquet, became a prominent journalist and newspaper editor and served as the executive editor of The New York Times from May 2014 to June 2022. Baquet's son Terry Baquet became a journalist and editor for The Times-Picayune newspaper and other publications in the New Orleans area. Edward Baquet and his wife Myrtle Baquet had five sons together, Wayne, Terry, Rudolph, Edward Jr, and Dean.