Archived Article By Tom Fitzmorris Originally published March 27, 2007 Copeland's Opens New Restaurant In Kenner; What About Two On St. Charles Avenue? Copeland's has taken over the former Lone Star Steakhouse on West Esplanade in Kenner, near the Esplanade Mall, and a few days ago reopened it as a standard Copeland's Creole-Cajun restaurant. (Although they all seem to be working that cheesecake idea.) That in itself is no big deal--one ordinary chain replaced by a better, local, chain. But it inspires a question, one I've been asked over a hundred times by readers and callers to my radio show. One I can't get answered by the Copeland's people. Why are they allowing the two Copeland's locations on St. Charles Avenue to just sit there, boarded up? St. Charles Avenue did not experience significant flooding. The buildings may have had some damage anyway. But there's nothing going on at either place. Not the older, smaller restaurant on the corner of St. Charles and Napoleon, or the much bigger, flashy Copeland's Cheesecake Bistro on St. Charles at St. Andrew, near the Pontchartrain Hotel. The only word I've heard--and this second-hand--is that they're thinking about what to do about those restaurants. How about just opening them? Everybody else Uptown is doing pretty well. The neighborhood is pretty much intact. For the Cheesecake Bistro, there are more people working downtown than there were before the storm. But right now, they're a blight on the showplace street of New Orleans (although you might not know that for the condition of the St. Charles roadway.) The streetcar line, which had to be completely rebuilt, looks to reopen before these two Copeland's restaurants will. Come on, Al. If you're going to use the name "New Orleans" on your restaurants, how about helping New Orleans a little? © 2007 Tom Fitzmorris. All rights reserved. news@nomenu.com