Archived Article By Tom Fitzmorris Originally published June 1, 2007 But Open Restaurants Continue To Increase A Few Closings, As Expected It wasn't a matter of whether or when, but of who and why. Memorial Day weekend begins the summer season, a time of hand-wringing for restaurateurs even in good years. Spring was better than expected for most New Orleans restaurants--particularly those catering to the visitor market. And June and the first half of July don't look nearly as bad as had been feared. But it seems certain that at the very least August and September will be very tough for people in every part of the hospitality industry here. So, restaurants will dig deep into their resources to keep going through the drought. Trouble is, some of them have already run dry from the strains of the last twenty months since the storm. So it was inevitable that we'd have a spate of closings right around now. The two most notable--both announced last week--were Nardo's and Fire. Nardo's was always good and charming, but for some reason it never really took off. In the last year months, the Cajun and French cooking of Chef Chris Canan abetted the existing Italian menu, but it didn't seem to make a big difference in terms of what restaurateurs call AOC (asses on chairs). This was surprising, given that Clancy's, a block away, continues to pack them in. The closing of Nardo's immediately fired up rumors--untrue--that Gabrielle would take over the space. The building they've been trying to open for months in the face of a opposition from a small number of neighbors is only a block away. (Greg and Mary Sonnier, as reported here weeks ago, have since given up on that location and have it up for sale.) It would be a pretty story indeed for them to move into Nardo's and thumb their noses at their opponents. But that won't happen. The closing of Fire, a very cool restaurant in the Lower Garden District, was easier to figure. When it was built a few years ago, it developed a strong clientele from the large complex of new apartments across the street. Those apartments ran into a complicated set of problems after the storm, and are just now beginning to be reoccupied, but very slowly. The loss of those customers, plus greatly higher operatng costs, were what caused owner Brenda Darr to lock up. That one is a heartbreaker. The restaurant was a pioneer in its neighborhood, as well as after the storm. They were open in October 2005--among the first ten percent to do so. They toughed it longer than most would. I hope it can somehow revive in some form, somewhere. There's another restaurant of interest that appears to be closed, but I have not confirmed this. I'll update this article when I do. And this may not be the end of the closings. Despite that, the number of open restaurants continues to climb. And the total number of closings (after reopening following the stom, if you follow) is still lower than had been normal pre-K, and much lower than is typical in other major food cities. © 2007 Tom Fitzmorris. All rights reserved. news@nomenu.com