It was once an old run-down sugar mill, a building which had been empty for over twenty years and was under the ownership of Fenner and Fenner Real Estate. Tiana's father was the first one to dream about opening a restaurant here, where he would serve his home-made gumbo together with his daughter Tiana. He couldn't save up for the place, though, because his family was poor and thus, he had to work three jobs to ensure they had enough money for living.
Role in the film[]
After Tiana's father passed away, Tiana started saving up to get the restaurant as well. She worked extremely hard and much to make sure she and her mother had enough money for living, as well as save for the restaurant. Being a highly independent woman, she never asked Daddy La Bouff for capital. She mostly saved up tips from her waitressing jobs for the restaurant. Once Charlotte La Bouff paid a large amount of money to her for a lot of man-catching advice, Tiana finally had enough and placed a bid on the old sugar mill. The Fenner Brothers then promised to bring her the papers to sign.
During the song, "Almost There", Tiana and her mother are shown working together on cleaning up the sugar mill to prepare it for its restaurant construction.
Later at the La Bouff ball, Tiana tells the Fenners more about her restaurant once she signs the papers. However, the Fenners then inform her that she was outbid by someone and unless she can top his offer by Wednesday, she "can kiss that place goodbye". Tiana tries to protest, but they tell her that someone of her background wouldn't be able to run a business like that and is better off where she's at. Once Tiana returned to the Fenners with her new husband Prince Naveen and her alligator friend Louis, she was finally able to pay for the building.
With a lot of effort on her and her husband Prince Naveen's behalf, the sugar mill was transformed into a beautiful restaurant. Tiana took the name her father wrote on his restaurant poster, Tiana's Place, but gave it a slight change, making it Tiana's Palace to emphasize her royal title. The restaurant became the crown jewel of New Orleans, even inspiring the other buildings in the area to become vibrant and re-inhabited. It became revered as the favorite restaurant of visiting royalty - Naveen's parents, the King and Queen of Maldonia and his brother, Prince Ralphie - and also hosted a live jazz orchestra, the Firefly Five plus Lou, led by Louis.
Trivia[]
There is a direct pun in the name of the band. The name "The Firefly five plus Lou" is a pun on the name of the band Firehouse Five Plus Two, which was a Dixieland jazz band, popular in the 1950s, consisting of members of the Walt Disney Studios animation department.
The theme design for Tiana's restaurant seems to be inspired from Lily of the Valley and Lotus.
In the English version of The Princess and the Frog, the poster of a fancy restaurant James wrote for his dream to come true prior to his death reads "Tiana's Place". In the international versions, this was altered simply as "Tiana's" to get over the language barrier.
The Fenner Brothers told Tiana she was "outbid" by someone, but considering it's unlikely that someone would bid on the mill in the same week Tiana placed her bid after twenty years of it being untouched, it is possible the Brothers just made that up in an attempt to avoid selling it to her.
Gallery[]
The sugar mill before becoming a restaurant.
The inside of the sugar mill before becoming Tiana's restaurant.
The ceiling of the sugar mill.
Construction begun on the sugar mill.
Tiana and Naveen turning the mill into a restaurant.
