Storerooms in New Orleans often acted as pantries and cellars all in one. Cool basements and cellars below the ground are usually not found in New Orleans during the 19th century, because the water table is quite high. James Gallier’s inventory, taken in 1868, lists 150 bottles of claret wine in this room. 

Medical remedies and household poisons might also have been kept in the storeroom. This use, along with the expense of some of the items stored in the pantry, often led to storerooms being locked and accessible only to the lady of the house or the housekeeper, who measured out the necessary ingredients.  The rigidity of this system depended upon the size of the household and the reliability of the slaves/servants.

Summer heat made food storage and preservation difficult.  The storeroom shutters would have been closed to keep sunlight and heat out of the room.  The floor is flagstone, which would have helped keep the room relatively cool.