Hello again. As promised in my last blog, this entry will mainly focus on the interviews that were conducted by Stephanie and myself. We went into each interview hoping to gain some insight on why this cluster of restaurants is here and how the Greenway Project and the new plaza development will affect them. The following is a map that shows the changes that these new developments plan on bringing to the area.

Stephanie and I started off our interviews at Juicy Lucy’s. As we entered the restaurant we were greeted by Denise Thomas, the manager of Juicy Lucy’s. We asked her if Mr. Mike Juan was available for a quick interview. Denise informed us that Mr. Mike has been spending a lot of time at their soon-to-be new location in Metairie on Houma Blvd. She agreed to sit with us and answer any questions that we had, despite the fact that she was waiting on tables as well. Denise has been working at Juicy Lucy’s for 9 months, but has been in the restaurant business for the majority of her life. She’s managed Mr. B’s Bistro in the French Quarter and Houston’s on St. Charles. She has also written employee manuals for Neows.

We asked Denise about the history of the building. She says that she has lived in the neighborhood for 16 years and she’s seen at least 13 other businesses housed in this particular building. Some of these businesses consisted of other restaurants, coffee shops, and even a small grocery store, Denise tells us.

“If there is one thing that you can tell someone about the history of this place, what would it be?” I ask her. Her eyes lit up and she says, “Ooh, I can give it to you”, as she walks away. A few moments later, she returns with this:

We asked her if she was worried about the competition that the Greenway Project and the plaza development may bring and she responded with, “Pfft! NO! We make over 900 burgers a week and are opening a new location so we must be doing something right.” She tells us that mid-city people don’t want chain food so she isn’t too concerned with Five Guys.

After the interview with Denise, Stephanie and I decided to walk over to Redemption. The hostess informed us that Mr. & Mrs. Delaune were out for the evening. When we explained to her what we were doing, she was quick to introduce us to Joey Lacaze. Joey has been a waiter at Redemption for 3 months, but has been living in Mid-City all of his life.

When we asked Joey how he felt about the Greenway Project and the plaza development, he looked confused. He had no idea what we were talking about. After explaining to him what the plans for the area were, he seemed excited. “Yes! A Pinkberry will be in town”, he says.

On a separate day, an interview was conducted with Chef Greg Picolo. When he was asked about his feelings on the Greenway Project and the plaza development, he shows little concern about competition. He says that the Mid-City restaurants are like one big community and he isn’t worried about competing with someone else. He says that if another restaurant is making something similar to what Redemption sells, he will just have to improve the way he makes the product to keep the customers coming back. He describes the food at Redemption as “upscale, ya’ mom ‘n dems”.