Leva Bonaparte Teases Which Charm-ers You’re Likely to See at Republic
The Republic matriarch can’t remember “how many times half of them have been kicked out” of her club.
If you were to spend an evening out on the town at Leva Bonaparte’s club, Republic Garden & Lounge, you would likely see a few of the Southern Hospitality cast members who work there. And according to Leva, from time to time, you can catch a Southern Charm-er there too.
Leva spoke with The Daily Dish about how her bar has been the backdrop for plenty of important moments among the Southern Charm cast — from first kisses to big disagreements.
“I can ramble off a million iconic moments,” Leva said about what has gone down at the club, before mentioning that Kathryn Dennis and John Pringle’s “kiss was at Republic” and that the lounge is where Danni Baird “met her fiancé.”
“They’re here all the time. They’re at one of the spots,” Leva said of her castmates, referencing her three other King Street restaurants and bars: 1st Place, Mesu, and Bourbon N’ Bubbles. “I know that the guys love the sushi at Mesu [since] it’s literally the freshest in town. Patricia [Altschul] loves Bourbon N’ Bubbles. She has a liquor locker there.”
The Southern Charm matriarch may have a highly coveted locker at Bourbon N’ Bubbles, but she has yet to spend an evening at Republic — though it’s not for a lack of trying.
“Patricia’s the only one, actually, [who] hasn’t been to Republic,” Leva added. “Literally, every time we film Southern Charm, she’s like, ‘Can we do a girls’ night [at Republic]?’ She always wants us to take her out there.”
The socialite hasn’t frequented the nightclub, but her son, Whitney Sudler-Smith, has. Leva shared that Whitney and pals Craig Conover and Shep Rose were three of “a handful of people” to tour the Republic space before Leva and her husband, Lamar Bonaparte, even “broke ground.”
Once Republic opened, the three (as well as the rest of the Charm-ers) became frequent guests. The businesswoman compared Republic to the infamous Peach Pit from Beverly Hills, 90210 — a go-to place where friends congregate.
“There’s a lot of history tied in with my Southern Charm friends in this space. We’ve all sort of been out of pocket, including myself, at Republic,” Leva said, adding that there have been “lots of fights” there. “I don’t know how many times half of them have been kicked out over at Republic, [or] how many dinners we’ve had at Mesu or Bourbon N’ Bubbles.”
The restaurateur noted that the cast would tend to gather at Republic after filming the show.
“After filming cuts, this is where we are when we want to continue the night. Then each one of the [other] spots is like a walk or jaunt over. It’s easy to get in, because everyone has the concierge’s phone number, like, ‘Hey, I’m walking down to that place, can I get a table?’ ‘Yes, of course,’” Leva added. “It’s kind of a big city neighborhood feel.”
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