Zee’s Pizzeria getting ready to fire up its ovens in the Milan neighborhood

Zee’s Pizzeria, the pizza popup slinging pies at Zony Mash Beer Project, is making a move to a place of its own in the Milan area. Owner Zander White is currently working on a brick-and-mortar restaurant on Baronne Street about a block from Martin’s Wine Cellar. He plans to open in mid-June. Pizza making had been a tradition for White and his father. When the family moved to New Orleans from Maine in 1994, they began buying dough from bakeries and making the Northeast-style pizza they missed from back home. 

“In the ’90s and early 2000s, there wasn’t a lot of good pizza options in New Orleans,” said White, who worked in New Orleans pizza parlors as a teenager.

‘Out of time and options,’ Live Oak Cafe is latest casualty of pandemic losses

The Live Oak Cafe — the epitome of Oak Street’s laid-back, creative vibe — is closing its doors Sunday (May 8) after its Mother’s Day brunch. Announcing the closure on the cafe’s Facebook page, chef and owner Clare Leavy said that the uptick in business during Carnival season was not enough to overcome the losses experienced during the pandemic. “Simply put, we are out of time and options,” Leavy stated. The cafe is known for its fresh, down-home renditions of classic brunch fare with dishes such as Sweet Potato Benedict and its beloved Shrimp & Grits. And every meal at Live Oak has been served with a side of live music.

Police blotter: Driver injured in shootout on I-10, armed robberies and burglary in Hollygrove area

Multiple armed robberies and a burglary were reported recently in the Hollygrove area, and a woman was caught in a shootout between vehicles on Interstate 10 near South Carrollton Avenue, according to the New Orleans Police Department. On Monday afternoon (May 2), a driver was struck by a bullet on Interstate 10 near the Carrollton Avenue exit. The victim, a 22-year-old woman, was caught in the crossfire as the occupants of two vehicles began firing at each other at about 2:45 p.m., police said. She was taken to the hospital for treatment. Early on Monday, three men held up a 44-year-old man at gunpoint in Hollygrove.

Mass shooting at Balcony Bar in Garden District blamed on ongoing violent rivalry

Six people were wounded late Friday (April 29) in a shootout at the Balcony Bar & Cafe on Magazine Street in the Garden District. Four women and two men sustained gunshot wounds to the lower body, the New Orleans Police Department said. The group was leaving the bar at about 10:15 p.m. when men in a dark-colored car spotted them and opened fire. The Emergency Medical Service took four female victims, ages 35, 34, 32 and 23, to the hospital. Two men, ages 23 and 25, arrived at an emergency room in a private vehicle, the NOPD reported.

Man shot to death in Irish Channel

The New Orleans Police Department is investigating a homicide that occurred in the Irish Channel. Around 11:30 p.m., Sixth District officers responded to a report of shots fired in the 500 block of Second Street. They found MacArthur Spellman, who was unresponsive and had sustained multiple gunshot wounds. Spellman was pronounced dead at the scene; he was 24. No further information is available at this time.

One woman arrested, another sought in disturbance at Half Moon Bar

The New Orleans Police Department obtained arrest warrants for two women — Johnquil Kelley, 25, and Alexis Linor, 24 — in an incident that occurred Saturday (April 23) at a bar in the Lower Garden District just off Magazine Street. Kelley was arrested on Thursday (April 28).
They are accused of assaulting multiple people at the Half Moon Bar & Restaurant, 1125 St. Mary St. On Saturday, police said, two women created a disturbance over being refused service when they could not show identification. They proceeded to commit battery on employees and patrons, police said.
On Thursday (April 28), Kelley was booked into Orleans Justice Center on an outstanding warrant for a 2018 domestic battery incident as well as charges stemming from the Half Moon Bar fracas.

Viewpoint: Don’t let the latest Covid variant ruin your Jazz Fest

The thousands of tourists and locals who will attend the long-awaited New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival will surely cause an increase in cases of Covid-19 and it newest sub-variant, BA.2. A friend coming in for the festival wants to wear his mask at the Fair Grounds. While a good idea, that’s probably not very practical considering the heat and the ongoing consumption of libations at Jazz Fest and the evening events. Ensuring each attendee takes the personal responsibility to avoid infection at this mostly outdoors event is a better solution. The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or CDC, reported Tuesday that the coronavirus has infected nearly 60% of people in the U.S. at least once, including about 75% of children.