New Orleans' Uptown Boutiques Struggle After Hurricane Katrina
By APRIL CAPOCHINO

October 24, 2005

When Van Staub opened The Art of Fishing on Magazine Street two years ago, his clientele was a steady stream of Lakeview, Gentilly, Old Metairie and West Bank residents combined with tourists and those who owned second homes in the coastal region of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama.Hurricane Katrina changed that.

Most of my customers' homes have washed away, said Staub, who sells coastal decor, vintage fishing lure shadow box displays to fish-inspired jewelry and home decorations. I probably have 15 percent of my customer base - that's it.

Like many store owners along this trendy strip of boutiques and specialty shops, he will reopen in November, hoping to attract holiday shoppers. However, he knows the next year is going to be a struggle.

I work two jobs now, said Staub, who is also contractor for Katrina Home Services. I will make enough money to pay the rent and the electricity but this will be a static business for awhile. I don't see any profit and that's the reality. People want us to be happy and show a good face, but how do you put a good spin on that? The long and short of it is it won't be the same. ... I'm a niche store and I'm going to feel it more than anywhere else.

Dawn Johnson, executive director of the Louisiana Retailers Association, said she's concerned about the boutiques and specialty gift shops more than any other businesses right now.They're going to have to stretch every dollar they can until tourism gets back, Johnson said. Once they get the inventory in and their stores cleaned up, it's about how fast they'll be able to get customers. We're concerned about them, and what's said is that those are the stores who brought the character to New Orleans.

To help retailers, LRA is raising money for grants for smaller businesses. It is accepting donations through Nov. 30.

Whatever we have by Nov. 30 will be split equally and dispersed out, Johnson said.We want to do whatever we can to help them stay afloat until they get their customer base back. But we know that not everyone will be able to sustain themselves until people come back. Until we're out of hurricane season and the rebuilding starts, it's going to be like pulling teeth to get people back.Other Magazine Street business owners have the same concerns.

The first couple of months will be difficult for me, said Amanda Frank, owner of Neophobia, a retro furnishing and decor store on Magazine Street, which reopened Oct. 15. It's hard because the bills and the rent have stayed the same but I'm not selling anything. But I'm staying positive about it. I'm hoping once people get their insurance checks they'll want to re- decorate their homes and shop here.While most stores along Magazine Street remain closed, some retailers say they're doing OK.

For Starbuck Laney and his wife, Lori, their 1-year-old clothing store Metro Three has serviced a steady stream of customers since reopening Oct. 15.We were really worried before we came back but we've been really busy, said Laney. It seems like people are coming out to check out if businesses are actually opened. He and his wife have taken advantage of the post-Katrina havoc by selling T-shirts with slogans like, Make levees, not war and Nagin for president. He said online orders are up but New Orleans businesses have had difficulty getting supplies delivered. We're running out of everything, he said. We're hoping UPS will come by in the next day or so.

Plywood still covers Jean Therapy, a shop with designer jeans on Magazine Street, but owner Vicki Adjmi said she's ready to reopen soon.Adjmi, who also owns a Jean Therapy at the Lakeside Mall, which will reopen Oct. 28, said she's not worried about people not buying designer jeans. People are asking me all the time when I'm opening back up, said Adjmi, who lost her Lakeview home. They're dying to spend money. The first things you want are the things that make you feel comfortable. Adjmi has taken advantage of Hurricane Katrina to make money. On Oct. 15, she said she sold $3,000 worth of T-shirts that said Save New Orleans with a fleur de lis symbol on them.

Four blocks from Magazine Street, the Garden District Book shop reopened Oct. 10.

We thought the weekend would be busy and it wasn't, said manager, Deb Wehmeier. Business had been more during the week but it's definitely not back to normal. We used to have a percentage of sales that were from tourists that we don't have now. We're trying to find different ways of doing business right now, trying to get word back to locals that we're open. But for the customers who are coming in, they're saying, 'We want our lives back. We want normality back.'