dnw wrote:Heard that they are looking for another NOLA location for Margaritaville.
Announced within the past 90 seconds on Radio Margaritaville: They're looking for a place on upper Decatur Street. Sounds like they have one in mind.
That makes more sense. I really enjoyed the bands at the NOLA club back in the day when I used to go there. It was the second one and had a lot more soul than the cookie cutter stores that they are opening now days.
Don't try to describe the ocean if you've never seen it.
I've read the articles, and all indicators point to Margaritaville moving to a new place on Decatur Street.
Also, a new branch of BB King's Blues Club will open at the old Storyville Tavern location, where the current Margaritaville site is.
So, in essence, New Orleans and us music lovers will enjoy a net gain of another venue.
". . .Can't get no gyro, smokin' in a bar in Cairo. . ."
From what I know the location at Jax Brewery on the top floor, which would've been outstanding, is not happening and there is the possibility of buying a rather small parking lot at Conti and Decatur to build a place that's been put on hold.
Parking isn't an issue since it's the French Quarter but building permits are.
Jimmy has nothing to do with it. As of now it's looking like it won't happen at all.
New Orleans is always a changing landscape. Charming on the one hand and very threatening on the other, safety is a looming issue in all of these endeavors too. Jimmy loves New Orleans, no doubt about that and if everything can be worked out, I'm he will be back. (somewhere) However like many of you it just doesn't feel like it when you read into the rhetoric.
Although I can't claim anything as fact I think part of the reason they left the location was they weren't making enough money. It wasn't exactly a local's place and the food was pedestrian at best, and in New Orleans, if you want locals, well, you need to have good food.
Yeah the rent went up but it was still a great location - and it's still a music oriented place now as BB King's Blues Club.
My understanding is, which means I could be wrong, Jimmy only has direct ownership with Duval Street. To my knowledge Decatur Street was the second to last one that he had ownership of and he let that one go when IMC bought out the entire Margaritaville restaurant business.
If IMC is smart they'll scale it back a bit. The one in Key West isn't huge. If it was something smaller, like Lucy's Retired Surfers Bar (now there's one in Key West!), it could work just fine.