Roadwork ahead: Emergency sewer repair closes Broadway in Fontainebleau

From the Mayor’s Office

On Wednesday (June 22), the city closed Broadway from Earhart Boulevard to Colapissa Street to vehicular traffic for approximately two days due to an emergency sewer point repair. Department of Public Works contractor Wallace C. Drennan installed security fencing and signage around the intersection. and flaggers will be onsite to direct drivers and pedestrians. That section of Broadway will be closed to vehicular traffic while crews complete the sewer point repair and Sewage & Water Board of New Orleans conducts a full inspection to avoid the possibility of a sewage backup. Drivers will detour from Colapissa to Pine Street until the expected reopen date of Friday (June 24).

Man fatally shot in Central City

A man was killed Wednesday (June 22) in Central City, the New Orleans Police Department reported. At about 5:15 p.m., NOPD Sixth District officers arrived at Simon Bolivar Avenue and Clio Street. They found Andrew Lewis lying on the shoulder of the street, with apparent gunshot wounds. The victim was declared dead on scene. He was 29.

Free HIV test center plans to open in former Garden District day spa

The AIDS Healthcare Foundation, or AHF, has plans to open an HIV testing center, health care center, pharmacy and Out of the Closet thrift store on Magazine Street. 

The Los Angeles-based foundation has purchased the building on Magazine and Sixth streets, the former location of the Belladonna Day Spa. The health care center is tentatively set to open in August, an AHF spokesperson said. AHF is the world’s largest provider of HIV/AIDS medical care, according to the foundation’s website, operating in 45 countries. In the U.S., its medical centers are in 17 states, including Louisiana, with a clinic in Baton Rouge. 

The foundation plans to the entire space of the 19th century building at 2900 Magazine St. The first floor will be used as a thrift store and likely a donation center; the second floor will be used for testing and a medical clinic.

Man and woman in Lower Garden District found shot to death in apparent murder-suicide

A man and woman were found dead inside their Lower Garden District home Sunday night (June 19) in what the New Orleans Police Department is treating as a murder-suicide. Police arrived at a home in the 1800 block of Camp Street at about 9:20 p.m. after someone had requested a wellness check on the couple. Inside they found a man and woman, both unresponsive with gunshot wounds. They were declared dead at the scene. The man was identified on June 23 as Maxwell Nazimowitz, 91.

Wishing Town Bakery: Come for the dumplings, stay for the pastries

Wishing Town Bakery, a Metairie favorite for Chinese dim sum since its inception in early 2020, has brought its dumplings and sweets Uptown to the former Café Luna spot at Magazine Street and Nashville Avenue. The founders of Wishing Town, Vivi and Kevin Zheng, are from Guangzhou, China, and began delighting customers with their egg tarts and cakes in early 2018 in a small spot on David Drive. In 2020, they expanded to their current Metairie location in the building that was once home to the famed Morning Call Coffee Stand. 

The pandemic caused the café to shut its doors temporarily, and upon reopening, welcomed customers from all over town, including people who drove from Uptown just for a taste of what the Zhengs had to offer. Opening an Uptown location of the café seemed like a logical next step, said the Zheng’s business partner Aisha Chen, the manager of the Uptown location. “We weren’t completely sure about the new location until we saw the space,” Chen said.

Eleven Uptown eateries offering special menus for Restaurant Week

The seven-day celebration of New Orleans food known as Restaurant Week  begins Monday (June 20) and runs through June 26. 

Some of the best restaurants all over town are offering special menus, so diners can sample the various cuisines at the abundance of restaurants our city has to offer. There are 11 participating in Uptown neighborhoods, ranging from international to haute Creole cuisine. In the decade this event has taken place (with a hiatus for 2020), it has taken place in September, after Coolinary month. Now the sponsors, Greater New Orleans Chapter of the Louisiana Restaurant Association and New Orleans & Co., have decided to move the 2022 Restaurant Week to June. “Instead of waiting until September to give a ‘shot in the arm’ in the summer to the restaurants, it was moved to the third week of June,” said Wendy Waren, spokesperson for the Louisiana Restaurant Association.