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Empanola, the spot that serves up traditional and New Orleans-inspired empanadas, is opening a new location at 3109 Magazine St. on Aug. 1. The site is the former location of novelty and gift shop Bootsy’s Fun Rock’n, which closed last summer. The Empanola location at 7321 Freret St., a neighborhood favorite since 2019, will remain Empanola’s main store, where all of the empanadas are baked.
Chateau Sew & Sew Fabric & Sewing Studio on Magazine Street seems like an anachronism in the time when the number of people who sew (sewists as they are now called) is declining. But the folks at Chateau Sew have a plan. It was started in 2015 by the mother-daughter team of Susan Jackson, a quilter, and her daughter Karen Flournoy, who mostly made garments. When Flournoy’s son was about to start school full-time, her mother suggested that, because she loves fabrics and had made clothes for her young son, they open a shop. “In 2014, I went to work on a business plan, researching how to source fabrics.
The annual Champagne Stroll is returning to Magazine Street this Friday (May 7) through Sunday (May 9). This year it is called “Champagne Strolling” and takes place as a three-day event: Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The spring 2020 Champagne Stroll was virtual, on a live interactive video feed, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The virtual component will also continue this year.
The Magazine Street Merchants Association sponsors the event and encourages everyone to sip and shop safely. “Despite the pandemic, we are trying to maintain the traditions of our Magazine Street events,” said MSMA President Kevin Gillentine, who owns the Kevin Gillentine gallery at 3917 Magazine.
Fresh coffee and live music — sign me up. Live music and artisan coffee and teas are the perfect mix to bring a new burst of energy to Uptown. Magazine Street is coming back in full force this spring, thanks to CR Coffee Shop and special guest Amanda Shaw. This festive event will be an opportunity for the community to donate to The Amanda Shaw Foundation while supporting their local cafe.
CR Coffee Shop is pleased to announce that we will be hosting Amanda Shaw on our patio from 8 to 10 a.m. on Tuesday, May 4, for GiveNOLA Day! This nonprofit focused event was created by the Greater New Orleans Foundation, an institution dedicated to driving positive impact through philanthropy, leadership and action in the Greater New Orleans Region.
Vintage Green Review, a local zero-waste education and consulting business, has opened its first brick-and-mortar store at 3530 Magazine St. After gauging community interest over a multi-week pop-up at the same address, the store’s owner, Sarah Andert, was so encouraged by the reception that she signed a lease to make her residence permanent. “Operating out of a physical location allows me to engage directly and regularly with customers,” Andert said. This marks New Orleans’ first zero-waste store and bulk refill bar, according to a press release that states it offers “a long-term option for plastic-free living, sustainable shopping, zero waste supplies, and the ability to refill household and personal care products in reusable containers.”
While the shop is currently open for business, its grand opening weekend will kick off on Earth Day, April 22, and continue through April 25. The event will feature discounted supplies, product giveaways and pop-up food vendors.
Gogo Borgerding’s entire inventory of iconic cuff bracelets and other handmade pieces was stolen from a Magazine Street shop, where Gogo Jewelry had held a pop-up sale on Saturday (March 13). The robbery was discovered Wednesday morning. Chad Ramey, Borgerding’s assistant, said he arrived at the former Francesca’s boutique at 3333 Magazine St., where the pop-up was held, at about 10 a.m. on Wednesday and saw the display jewelry was gone. He started to get anxious, but thought maybe Borgerding had moved it. Then he walked in.
The stretch of Magazine Street between Gen. Pershing and Milan streets has seen a lot of comings and goings of businesses through the years, and even more recently due to the COVID-19 pandemic. One new business that plans to open in the next few months is Second Vine Wine, in the space that most recently housed the Claudia Croazzo clothing store, at 4210-14 Magazine St. If the wine shop’s name is familiar, it’s because Second Vine Wine was previously located in the Marigny Triangle. It closed last year in March, just after the pandemic and lockdowns began. But you can’t keep a wine lover and educator away from Bacchus’ call, and Troy Gant, one of the previous Second Vine Wine owners, is harvesting a new wine shop.
Scriptura and Parcels & Post have both installed storefront floats to bring the Carnival spirit to Magazine Street. And together they represent some popular images in the house float craze: oversized flowers, king cakes, alligators and Dolly Parton.
Scriptura has a 25-year history at 5423 Magazine St. It started in just the front room, and gradually grew into the owners buying the building and taking over every square inch. They have their letterpress studio in the back, retail in the front and offices on the second floor.
Scriptura’s storefront “house float” is dedicated to the country music star because of the inspiration she provided during the difficulties of last year. The year 2020 was full of personal loss for the owners of Scriptura.
The New Orleans Academy of Fine Arts and Sosusu Boutique on Magazine Street have storefront floats that add to the Carnival spirit on Magazine Street. Both of these professional creations light up at night.
In more than 40 years of being in the same building at 5256 Magazine St., never did the nonprofit New Orleans Academy of Fine Arts imagine that they would be turned into a house float. The school located on the route of many Uptown parades usually has a viewing stand. This year, school officials had planned to turn it into a fundraising event for the institution and charge admission.
But the pandemic and canceled parades changed all that. “We wanted to have our installation look like a real float,” said school President Dian Winingder about the creation entitled “Gogh Mardi Gras.”
It is of course an homage to Vincent Van Gogh (they call the tractor driver “Vincent”) and, Winingder said, his imagery is easy to recognize and simple enough to make into float props and decorations.
Two more storefront floats have appeared along Magazine Street this week – at Del Fuego Taquería and McEnery Residential. One is part of the Krewe of House Floats subkrewe for the Audubon Riverside neighborhood, and the other joined up with the Krewe of Read Beans’ “Hire a Mardi Gras Artist” project.
Chef Dave Wright at Del Fuego Taquería summed up their decision to make a storefront float this way: “We’re all really going to miss the parades this year, so when the Krewe of House Floats was formed, we jumped on the idea of celebrating Mardi Gras in our neighborhood. Our ‘Krewe of House Margarita’ is where it’s at!”
The Del Fuego staff used the Margarita as their inspiration for the DIY float. “We all collectively came up with creative ways to incorporate the ingredients we use to make our fresh-squeezed house Margaritas without breaking the bank,” Wright said. The homemade float flowers’ leaves are painted lime wedges, and the parasols are glittered citrus wheels.
