Current Crop Roasting Shop lets coffee lovers roast their own

Coffee connoisseurs who want take their home brews a step further may find what they need at Current Crop Roasting Shop. The new Magazine Street retailer is not your typical coffee shop; it is designed to be a DIY a coffee roasting hub. Current Crop will celebrate its official grand opening at 3931 Magazine Street on Wednesday (March 1) at 3 p.m.

Current Crop offers products and experiences to help customers learn more about the art and science of home coffee roasting. As the trend of specialty coffee continues to grow, so too does the number of people interested in exploring the world of roasting their own coffee beans.  

Founder John Puckett said they want to contribute to the historic and already rich coffee culture of New Orleans. “We want to bring the love of home roasting to all those who appreciate a good cup of coffee,” he said. 

The store has coffee specialists on staff to guide and advise customers, as well as classes and educational resources.

The Tell Me Bar in the Lower Garden District lets the wine ‘be what it’s meant to be’

The Lower Garden District has a new social spot that features natural wine by local experts. Uznea Bauer, Cory Cartwright, and Tyler Robinson opened The Tell Me Bar on St. Thomas Street near the Pontchartrain Expressway in December 2022. 

It specializes in natural wine, which Bauer described it as wine created with as little intervention as possible. “You’re working as ‘hands-off’ as possible in the vineyard. You’re not using chemicals, pesticides or insecticides other than herbal applications and copper — more natural things with no chemicals,” she said.

City seeks public input on zoning changes at Master Plan meeting

The city is asking for public input on zoning changes in the planning district that includes Central City, Lower Garden District, St. Thomas, Irish Channel, Garden District, Milan, Touro-Bouligny, East Riverside and Hoffman Triangle. The New Orleans Master Plan and Future Land Use Map are the primary policy and planning documents for land use and development in the city. They set up guardrails for the types of zoning districts that may be applied in your area. In 2008, voters approved an amendment to the City Charter requiring land use actions to be consistent with the Master Plan’s Future Land Use Map.

Man killed in Hoffman Triangle double shooting

A man was killed in a double shooting Sunday night (Feb. 26) in the Hoffman Triangle, according to the New Orleans Police Department. Officers responding to a call of shots fired in the 2500 block of South Derbigny, near Third Street, at 9:08 p.m. discovered two men suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. Emergency Medical Services medics pronounced one victim dead at the scene. The other victim was transported to a local hospital for treatment.

Roadwork ahead: Lane closure in the 7800 block of St. Charles Avenue

The westbound lanes of St. Charles Avenue from Burdette Street to Fern Street will be temporarily closed beginning at 7 a.m. on Monday (Feb. 270. The closure will last for approximately four weeks to accommodate a waterline tie-in and roadway restoration work as part of the Black Pearl Group B construction project. The road closure is expected to remain in effect until Friday, March 24 at 5:30 p.m. Signage and traffic control measures, such as barrels and fencing, will be onsite to direct drivers and pedestrians.

Man fatally shot in Riverbend area

A man was shot to death Friday evening (Feb. 24) in the Riverbend, the New Orleans Police Department reported
Just before 6 p.m., Second District officers responded to a call reporting shots fired in the 800 block of Cambronne Street, near the river. They found a unresponsive man with an  undetermined number of gunshot wounds. He died at the scene. The Orleans Parish Coroner’s Office identified the victim as Darron Washington, 31.

Where to find a Friday fish fry without leaving Uptown

It’s Lent, the season of the Friday fish fry. Below are some fish fry opportunities in the Uptown area. See here for the archdiocese’s complete list of church fish fries in the metro area. If you know of a fish fry in the Uptown area that’s not on this list, we invite you to leave the information in the comments section. Good Shepherd Parish at Basilica of St.

How to give your Mardi Gras beads a second life

Now that the parades are over for the season, it’s time to figure out what to do with all those beads. They may be cluttering your home, but at least they did not end up in the city’s drainage system or garbage dump. Now is the time to put them to good use. About 25 million pounds of beads are thrown every year during Carnival parades, but only a very small portion of those are recycled. “Everyone loves the thrill of catching beads at a parade,” said Ron Forman, president and CEO of Audubon Nature Institute, which sponsors seasonal recycling bins for beads.