[Editor’s note: The following letter was sent by Greg Sonnier, owner of The Uptowner, to the Audubon-Riverside Neighborhood Association after that group decided to withhold their support for his restaurant Tuesday night. Sonnier also sent a copy of the letter to UptownMessenger.com as a comment on the original story, and it has been reprinted here in full.]
Dear ARNA,
I was notified by a reporter from the UptownMessenger.com of the ARNA meeting where our application request for Gabrielle restaurant at 438 Henry Clay Ave was brought up. I apologize for not being able to attend but would like to take the time to address my request for the zoning change from non-conforming use to a restaurant (table service).
I think it best to summarize our predicament for you from the beginning in order to present the facts.
It was our intention after Katrina to re-establish our established New Orleans business, Gabrielle Restaurant at this address. We were urged by a local realtor and a neighborhood association officer in December of 2005 to move to the Uptowner because the business there was fully licensed for a restaurant and she assured us that the neighbors would not be hostile to a business like ours. Unfortunately, we were misled into believing that all we had to do was buy The Uptowner Inc. and we would be able to operate Gabrielle Restaurant from this address because it carried all the necessary restaurant permits.
Nine months after we purchased the business and the building, we were notified by city officials that the property could not be used for any kind of restaurant business even though the permits that the business carried was “licensed to pursue a restaurant” at this address and carried this business description since 1996. The building was equipped with a commercial range, hood and refrigeration. The property has been commercially taxed and commercially metered by the City of New Orleans. The 1st floor of the building was originally used for Seilers Mercantile Store in 1901 and according to records has always been used for a commercial enterprise.
We were warned by city officials that if we operated any kind of restaurant business from this address; we would be cited and shut down. The building would automatically revert into a residential home. After being put on notice by those holding high positions of power and influence, I assured them that we had suspended our plans to operate Gabrielle restaurant from here. Ever since then, Mary and I have been running a limited food service operation from the Uptowner building.
We sought to gain the approval from the neighborhood associations in the area. This action came to a peak with a well attended meeting moderated by the president of ARNA, Andrew Pilant on February 5, 2007 where an agreement with our business and the neighborhood was discussed and approved of. After the meeting, I met and spoke with the president of the Burthville Association of Neighbors and asked him where and when their meetings were so that I could address some of the concerns of his members and identify with them. I later sent him letters requesting a meeting with his neighborhood group.
Our business, The Uptowner Inc. and the City of New Orleans were then sued by the president of the Burthville Association of Neighbors, Mike Sherman. His intervention in the City Hall process and subsequent summary judgment motion time barred the zoning process for 3 years. His motion was resolved by a Civil Court Judge in 2008 thus making the application appropriate for review by the planning commission and then voted on by the New Orleans City Council.
May I end with what our goal is with the building and state the major points of our neighborhood agreement.
1. The size of the restaurant shall be 85 seats and cannot be expanded to seat more than this. It can only operate as a restaurant as defined in the CZO upon approval of the zoning change.
2. Alcoholic beverage service shall be table service only and shall be served in combination with food service. Notwithstanding the foregoing, alcohol beverage service shall be permitted at the holding bar located in the back of the restaurant (inside, off the side patio) for restaurant patrons with dinner reservations waiting to be seated.
3. The restaurant hours shall be limited to the hours of 11:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. Monday through Sunday; provided, however, that on New Year’s Eve only, restaurant hours may be extended to no later than 12:30 a.m.
4. The Uptowner shall provide to the City Planning Commission a litter abatement plan detailing the location of litter storage, the frequency of litter pickup, and the clearing of all litter from the sidewalks and street rights-of-way adjacent to restaurant. The name and phone number of the owner/operator of the restaurant shall be kept on file in case of any violation. In no case shall litter be stored so that it is visible from the public right-of-way
5. Outside live music shall be prohibited
6. We plan to operate a well respected business that would upgrade the character of the Audubon Riverside area and promote the value of the surrounding properties.
7. We would like to return to our livelihoods as Restaurateurs in a City we love and have always called our Home!
Feel free to contact me with any concerns you might have regarding our business conversion.
One of my goals is to dispel the disinformation alerts that were passed around before the last process. Please let me know if there is anything I can do from a community stand point in order to continue to be a good business neighbor.
Sincerely,
Greg Sonnier
438 Henry Clay Ave
goodeats5673@aol.com
This seems so reasonable to me! Sonnier’s past restaurant was a jewel of New Orleans cuisine. I feel his business plans been unfairly treated over the years… the politics of which I cannot imagine. My neighborhood association in would welcome his business.
P.S. Do you remember all the squawking over the Uptown Whole foods? I’d love to compare petitioners against shoppers today.