Freret Street business owners contend with the quiet, look toward a comeback

Signs for the Freret Street Festival have hung over the Freret business corridor for weeks. It’s the trademark spring event of the popular strip that runs from Tulane and Loyola universities to Napoleon Avenue.

The 2020 festival, originally scheduled for April 4, has gone the way of Jazz Fest and other events — postponed to a date yet to be determined. “It was a big boost,” Mojo Coffee House owner Angela Estevez said of the festival. “A lot of businesses, I think, that helps them get through the summer.”

In the years after Hurricane Katrina, Freret Street saw an influx of investment, with shuttered banks and gas stations transformed into restaurants, bars and coffee shops bringing new business to the area. In the throes of the coronavirus pandemic, the street, like the rest of the city, has come to a near standstill.

We'll Be Right Back: New Orleans Hospitality

‘We’ll Be Right Back’: Financial relief, policy discussions for night-life economy

We’ll Be Right Back is a homegrown podcast that shares the stories of local business owners and employees in the service sector and gig economy at-large. Host Greg Tilton interviews professionals and organizations that provide relief and resources that help the industry manage through COVID-19.

This series highlights the work, status and future of the hospitality industry in New Orleans.

School Board seeks candidates to finish Ben Kleban’s term

Orleans Parish School Board member Ben Kleban will step down from his District 5 post on June 15, and the board is looking for someone to finish out his term.

Kleban announced his resignation in March, saying in an email that he and his wife and three children plan to move to Washington State to be closer to their extended family.

Viewpoint: The Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval, circa 2020

The importance of cleaning, sanitizing and disinfecting surfaces has become the new national pastime. In the past month, we’ve all viewed tutorials and become experts on how to properly wash our hands for 20 seconds or more, but what about our groceries, shoes and mail-order packages? You’re likely wiping down some surfaces with disinfectant, but are you wiping down all the right surfaces?

If keeping your home safe from COVID-19 is the priority, what comes after 6 feet of social distancing and a liberally applied hand sanitizer? Some say it entails a lot more.

Beneficiary of Tyler Perry’s random act of kindness keeps paying it forward

When 61-year-old Lori Golden Freehling entered the Winn-Dixie on Tchoupitoulas Street on Wednesday morning, a store worker handed her a piece of paper that said “Random Act of Kindness” on it.

She assumed it was some kind of promotion to show appreciation for store employees. But when she checked out her groceries, the cashier asked her, “Do you know who Tyler Perry is?”

Golden Freehling said of course – Tyler Perry is the multimillionaire creator of the mega-hit “Madea” movie franchise, and a New Orleans native.

“She looked at me with this big smile and said, ‘Well, he just bought your groceries,’” Freehling said.

Archbishop, rabbi to take ‘Spirit Flights’ over city

 

From Big Easy Wing

In an initiative to honor this week’s religious holidays during a major health crisis, the Big Easy Wing of the Commemorative Air Force will launch its first “Spirit Flights” over New Orleans. Two local religious leaders will be flying over the city in a World War II plane.

The first flight will take on Good Friday (April 10) at 10 a.m. Archbishop of New Orleans Gregory Aymond will fly over the city to bless the citizens of metropolitan area during this pandemic. Aymond himself only recently recovered from COVID-19.