Return of Martin Wine Cellar wins approval from city board, Baronne Street neighbors

The mural on the original Martin Wine Cellar building (photo by anthonyturducken via flickr)

With Tuesday’s blessing by a city board, Martin Wine Cellar is one step closer to reclaiming its original Uptown New Orleans location, raising hopes among neighbors there that it will kickstart the revitalization of the Baronne Street business corridor.

The original upscale deli and grocery was founded in 1946, but flooded after Hurricane Katrina and was looted in the chaos that followed, said owner Cedric Martin. The family opened its Mandeville location in December 2005 and its Magazine Street store the following year, and has been working on a new design for the original site for more than a year now.

“It’s my intention to rebuild in this neighborhood. It’s where I grew up,” Martin told the city planning commission Tuesday afternoon.

The new store will have more parking than the original, said architect Mac Ball of Waggoner and Ball, and its “typical Uptown” painted-brick exterior will feature a canopy over the sidewalk similar to the art galleries on Magazine Street. Architects and landscapers have been working with the Delachaise neighborhood to design the store, which Martin said will ultimately be a better fit than the original.

“The old building was sort of pieced together over 40 years,” Martin said. “We’ve come up with a very nice building for the neighborhood, and the neighborhood is glad to have it back.”

Indeed, no one spoke against the project at Tuesday’s hearing, and Ball actually had more questions for the planning staff than the planning commissioners had for him. Their brief discussion centered on the placement of shade trees in the parking lot, landscaping to discourage graffiti along the wall, and traffic flow through the two parking lots on either side of Peniston Street. Martin also noted that the original store had a large mural on the exterior, and while he has no immediate plans to replace it, he may do so down the line.

The commissioners’ recommenation goes next to the City Council for approval. In the meantime, news of the landmark’s impending return to Baronne Street was well received by Aaron Hyde, owner of the Brewstock homebrew supply shop that will share the block with Martin. Brewstock, which outgrew its original Oak Street location this spring, said he has been looking forward to Martin’s return since demolition began on the lot earlier this year.

The two businesses already have a sort of synthesis, Hyde said. Many people looking for wine yeast start at Martin’s Magazine location, and the manager there, a homebrewer himself, will often recommend them to Brewstock, Hyde said. But more than that, the return of the landmark to Baronne Street will surely bring foot traffic to a business corridor that is beginning to reawaken, Hyde said.

“This neighborhood is definitely looking forward to it. Beside the property value, it brings people into the neighborhood,” Hyde said. “That’s something I struggle with as a business owner. People think this neighborhood’s really bad, but it’s not. Martin was kind of the anchor before the storm, and I’m sure it will be the anchor of the neighborhood again.”

[Update, 10 p.m. Tuesday] Later Tuesday evening, Martin appeared before the Delachaise Neighborhood Association, saying he hopes to begin construction in December and that he and his daughter are still working on design details to give the new store “a little more flair for New Orleans.” The only question for him was what the store’s hours will be (from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.), but phrases like “I’m excited” were murmured throughout the audience.

“I always come to you first, because I don’t want to solve my problems in front of the city council,” Martin told the association.