In 1954, author John Steinbeck wrote an article about Tom Caplinger and Cafe Lafitte for the Saturday Evening Post, describing Caplinger as 'an uninhibited, unkempt scholar, whose laissez-faire policy of running a gin mill can only be termed unique.' Ghost Stories At the grand reopening party in 1953, patrons arrived costumed as their favorite 'exile', including people like Oscar Wilde, Dante, and Napoleon. In the 1950s, during rising tension between the club and the landlord, manager Tom Caplinger moved the club to the building where it is now located.
In its early days, the bar was managed by Mary Collins, a lesbian, and drew a mixed crowd of lesbians, homosexuals and heterosexuals. This building is now called Lafitte's Blacksmith Shop. The original Cafe Lafitte in Exile opened in the building that had been the noted pirate Jean Lafitte's blacksmith business in the 18th century. Operating since the end of Prohibition (albeit in two different locations) the bar claims to be the oldest gay bar in operation in the United States.
The bar is open 24 hours a day and has had influential guests including Tennessee Williams and Truman Capote. During the New Orleans Pride Parade, 2016
