LEGEND has it Marie Laveau still haunts New Orleans’ French Quarter, hovering over the deserted thoroughfare under the cover of night in the guise of a menacing crow.

The mythical Queen of Voodoo and one-time hairdresser’s meddling with the dark arts has captured the imagination of legions, not least salon owner Shay Barry, who looked no further when pondering his next business venture in Old Town.

Last month, he bade farewell (symbolically) to his salon-cum-coffee shop Vu:Du, in Victoria Road, and relaunched the space as 1801 — another hybrid, part cocktail bar, cafe and hairdresser — so named after the year of Marie’s birth.

“She was the most powerful Voodoo queen in history,” explains the hairdresser-cum-bar owner.”

“She practised black magic and hairdressing in the same building. The hairdressing connection was perfect. And I thought we could play with it, use potion names for cocktails and serve Creole food.”

The father-of-one founded Vu:Du eight years ago as a straightforward salon. He stumbled on the moniker while combing the dictionary for inspiration. Voodoo, particularly its phonetic spelling ‘vu:du’ caught his fancy.

In 2011, he moved to Brighton with the intention of opening another branch, commuting regularly to Swindon to keep an eye on his business here.

But running a salon by proxy while supporting his autistic teenager proved too demanding and in 2014, he shelved the expansion and returned to Swindon. But not before dreaming up a cafe corner for Vu:Du.

“I started to get bored with hairdressing. I had built a clientele and I felt I had got as far as I wanted to go. I wanted a new challenge. “So In September 2014 I moved the hairdressing at the back of the building and decided to trial the front as a cafe.

“I thought the absolute worst was failure and if that happened I would revert back to a salon. We had paninis, cakes, sausage rolls – it was a full-on cafe.”

Hurled out of his comfort zone, he was not quite prepared for the emotional rollercoaster that preceded the dreaded health and safety inspector’s visit – thankfully Vu:Du was awarded a five star hygiene rating from the off – nor the paperwork that accompanied it.

The word was slow to spread about the new coffee shop corner. Shay believes this was partly due to his decision to keep the name Vu:Du instead of rebranding the venue.

He was not going to be caught making the same mistake twice when time came to unveil his cocktail bar concept.

The bar idea emerged quite by chance. Shay was approached by artist Caroline Day to host an exhibition at Vu:Du.

He agreed and upped the ante, offering to hold a preview night. He applied for an alcohol licence for the event in January.

Before he knew it, artists were lining up to showcase their work at Vu:Du. A string of successful preview nights followed.

“We were serving wine and spirits – all high end. But last May I decided to try cocktails for a preview night. We trialled classic, blueberry and strawberry and basil mojitos and different types of Bellinis, like peach and elderflower.

“It was minimal but they flew out. That sparked the idea for the cocktail bar. I was absolutely sure that was the way to go.”

After initially settling on the name ‘chameleon’, he had a change of heart and decided to delve deeper into the ‘vu:du’ theme. He consulted his trusty search engine and it spat out Marie Laveau and 1801.

Shay was not quite ready for the onslaught of patrons ready to overrun 1801 on launch night on July 24.

“I was shell-shocked on opening night,” he admits. “I’ve never seen so many people in my venue. It was exciting; people were queuing to get in. But at the same time I kept thinking about health and safety and our capacity. We had to turn people away. There’s a lot to think about.”

The bar serves a selection of dry martinis, mojitos and concoctions served in jam jars and tin. The house speciality is a Bloody Mary infused with Creole spices. The light and airy cafe has made way for an intimate, dimly-lit haunt, dominated by black, grey and purple tones. A smattering of quirky features, including top-hat light fixtures, mirrors, the obligatory portrait of Marie keeping watch, and a large crow daubed on the wall, complete the mystical city bar feel.

“I wanted this dark, voodoo feel. It had to be intimate, a classier environment but still cosy and comfortable. This is really a bar for 21 and over age-wise. It’s a place for friends to enjoy a night out, not for a rowdy bunch.”

The cafe no longer serves rolls and paninis. Shay is hoping to introduce locally-sourced breakfast treats and a small but irresistible menu of Creole dishes for lunch and dinner such as jambalaya, a Louisiana rice speciality.

“It’s really strange to think I’m a bar owner. I am everything really — manager, hairdresser, first aider, door staff. Sometimes I think, why have I done this to myself? I still work at the salon three days a week – it’s a lot of work. I’ve been running on adrenaline.

“But I always throw myself into things and see them through to the end.”

1801 is at 96 Victoria Road and is open from 9am between Tuesday and Saturday. Last orders are at 11pm. All cocktails are £6.95 or two for £12. To find out, more call 01793 488610 or visit www.facebook.com/1801cocktails.coffee.