Archived Article By Tom Fitzmorris
Originally published February 21, 2008
They Were
Immobilized For Their Own Protection
Where
Were The Basketball Fan Diners?
One would have to be a moron to call the
big basketball event that took place here last weekend a bad thing. A
lot of people came in for it, spent a fair amount of money in hotels
and other services. The city got a lot of national publicity out of it.
There's no question that crime is holding our city back as much as anything this side of the housing shortage, and that it effects every quality of life matter. Everybody's behind creative ways to amerliorate the problem.
But. Have you spoken to any French Quarter restaurateurs?
The owner of a major historic restaurant told me: "Business really sucked. I don't want to talk about it." Those are not words I often hear from this chef. Another (I'll name him: Chef Duke Locicero of Cafe Giovanni) gave his familiar sigh of disappointment. "My people couldn't get here. Canal Street was blocked. Poydras Street was blocked. All the locals turned around and went somewhere else. The streets were full of people, but none of them were in restaurants."
When we have a big event in town--Mardi Gras to sports to the Jazz Festival--the restaurateurs relish the extra business it brings. That's especially important now, because they have to sweat through so many dead times, and pay back the losses for that really long dead time called 2006.
Isn't the point of having major happenings in the city to fill up the hospitality businesses we have here? If millions are spent on organizing these things and all the money is made be people who swoop into town for the event and leave afterwards, what have we accomplished? Can't we cut ourselves a better deal?
And as much as we abhor crime being visited on our visitors, surely there must be a way to prevent it that doesn't prevent customers from getting to restaurants and bars.
I don't mean to point a finger at anyone, and I certainly don't know how this could have been done better--it's outside my expertise. But next time, the needs of the restaurant community can't be ignored the way it was this past weekend.
© 2008 Tom Fitzmorris. All rights reserved. news@nomenu.com