Archived Article By Tom Fitzmorris Originally published September 19, 2006 Click here for the current edition It's Official: Bella Luna Is Gone I received a message of bad news from Horst and Karen Pfiefer last week. It said that they have decided not to reopen Bella Luna. They gave no reason for this, so we're going to guess at it. The City of New Orleans owns the French Market building in which the restaurant was on the second floor, and has been slow to make repairs. Also, the last time I talked with Horst, he was quite pessimistic about the prospects for restaurants in the French Quarter in the near future. On the other hand, he and Karen will continue to operate their catering facility, the Foundry, on St. Joseph Street in the Warehouse District. That's where Horst holed up through the entire Katrina crisis days, feeding the troops in exchange for fuel for his generator and for water and other supplies. He lived in the office of The Foundry in those days, and was the first major chef to be operating in New Orleans after the storm. The Foundry is a cool place, built out of an old factory with gigantic wood beans and lots of space. But it's not a restaurant, and it can't replace Bella Luna. Nothing could. In a survey we did a few years ago, it was called the most beautiful restaurant in New Orleans. It certainly had the best river viewof any New Orleans restaurant. So good, in fact, that it's a virtual certainty that someone else will move into the space. Let's pray it's something good. © 2006 Tom Fitzmorris. All rights reserved. news@nomenu.com