Week in Review, Dec. 6-10: Bywater Hotel, Krispy Krunchy Investment, NOLA Oil Terminal and More
NEW ORLEANS — Area business leaders are optimistic about their organization’s financial outlook in 2022 but clear-eyed about the dangers to the greater New Orleans economy posed by the uncertain trajectory of the pandemic and the prospect of more hurricanes next year. These are some of the takeaways from a Biz New Orleans email survey of the “New Orleans 500,” a list of influential executives. Nearly 70% of the leaders who responded to the questionnaire say they expect their organization’s total revenue to climb in 2022. About a quarter expect revenue to be flat and less than 10% are forecasting a drop in earnings. According to the New Orleans 500, there are plenty of reasons to be optimistic about the city’s economy. For one, there are about to be hundreds of millions of dollars circulating through it thanks to federal pandemic relief, hurricane relief and the recently signed infrastructure bill. Dottie Belletto, owner of New Orleans Convention Company, said she’s very “optimistic about the infrastructure bill and our former mayor [Mitch Landrieu] as the lead.”
Here are more of the week’s top business stories:
On Dec. 8, developer Ted Kelso’s Stateside Hospitality and partners hosted a ceremonial groundbreaking at the construction site of a new 93-room Arrive New Orleans hotel at the corner of Chartres and Mazant in Bywater. The hotel will have three floors of guest rooms, an outdoor pool and greenery-filled courtyard, rooftop space, a coffeeshop operated by Mammoth Espresso, and a new restaurant from chef Eric Cook (Gris Gris and Saint John). After years in development, the $25 million hotel is set to open late 2022. Construction officially began in March and contractors have poured a concrete slab and begun erecting steel structures. Trison Construction, headquartered in Metairie, is the builder. New Orleans-based studioWTA partnered with Palm Springs’ Elemental Architecture on the design. Kelso raised funds from several private investors for the project, which was initially conceived as a hostel. After meeting neighborhood resistance to the idea as far back as 2016, Kelso decided to build a hotel that included a restaurant, bar and coffee shop that would be a draw to area residents as well as visitors. The property, the former site of a seafood processing plant, is zoned to allow for hostels and hotels up to 10,000 square feet. …
Breeze Airways announced that it will add a route from Louis Armstrong New Orleans International to Palm Beach International Airport beginning Feb. 19, 2022. This is the airline’s first new market addition since its May 2021 debut. Breeze will now serve eight destinations from New Orleans. These are Akron/Canton, OH; Bentonville/Fayetteville, AR; Charleston, SC; Columbus, OH; Louisville, KY; Norfolk, VA ; Palm Beach; and Richmond, VA. Fares on the Saturday-only roundtrip flight to Palm Beach start at $39 one-way. …
NOLA Oil Terminal LLC announced that it has begun construction on phase one of an oil and refined products terminal project in Plaquemines Parish. The facility occupies 158 acres located at Mile Marker 59 on the lower Mississippi River. The $300 million wharf and dock bond funding for this project was approved in summer 2021. NOLA Oil Terminal is designed to allow Mississippi River access to large vessels. NOLA Oil Terminal in total is a $930 million dollar project. The initial water-side phase of the project includes two deep water berths for tankers and one barge dock. These two berths will be capable of mooring 170,000-ton vessels. The barge dock will serve both inland and oceangoing tank barges. Land-side construction constitutes the second phase of the project. NOLA Oil Terminal was founded in 2013 by two entrepreneurs: COO Christian Amedee and Principal Engineer Roy M. Carubba. …
Krispy Krunchy Chicken, a branded convenience store foodservice program, announced it has received a strategic growth investment from Main Post Partners, a San Francisco-based private equity investment firm with experience partnering with iconic brands and multi-location foodservice platforms. Krispy Krunchy was founded in 1989 by Neal Onebane, a convenience store operator in Lafayette, La. KKC partners with retail operators, primarily within convenience stores, to provide a branded QSR-style foodservice offering in a flexible format. The Krispy Krunchy menu features a proprietary Cajun fried chicken and an assortment of sides. Over its 32 year history, KKC has grown to service more than 2,600 retail locations in 48 states. “We’ve built and grown the Krispy Krunchy brand over multiple decades by relying on the word-of-mouth marketing and loyalty that develops when consumers are introduced to our highly crave-able Cajun fried chicken. During the next phase of growth, we are excited to partner with Main Post, given their deep experience in the foodservice sector and track record of building enduring consumer brands,” said Dan Shapiro, CEO at Krispy Krunchy Chicken. …
The New Orleans Agenda reports that Sankofa Community Development Corporation has begun building Fresh Stop Market, a 1,600-square-foot healthy food store and community learning kitchen that will provide access to fresh fruits and vegetables in the Lower Ninth Ward. Construction of the Fresh Stop Market building, at 5029 St. Claude Avenue, will be completed by the summer of 2022. The Lower Ninth Ward has been designated a “food desert” by the United States Department of Agriculture because it lacks easy access to a supermarket or large grocery store that sells healthy and affordable foods. “This store and community learning kitchen will be a pillar of nutritional development for the adults and children of the Lower Ninth Ward,” said the Rev. Richard Bell, board president of Sankofa CDC. “Under the leadership of Ms. Rashida Ferdinand, Sankofa has been instrumental in supplying our community with much-needed resources like the Fresh Stop Market store and the Wetland Park on Florida Boulevard, which gives the community and children a place to learn about nature while providing space for a nice family gathering.” …
As Tulane prepares to open the Thirteen15 apartment building in the former Warwick Hotel, a deal has been inked to showcase another uniquely New Orleans treasure, the newest restaurant helmed by Dook Chase of the Chase family. A restaurant space has long been planned for the building, and this fall, Tulane signed a lease with Edgar “Dook” Chase IV, grandson of Leah and Dooky Chase. Opening in the spring of 2022, the yet-to-be-named restaurant will offer breakfast and lunch, as well as coffee and grab-and-go items for both tenants of the building and members of the community. Weekend brunch will feature classic New Orleans favorites and live music. “This will be my take on New Orleans cuisine,” Chase said, but added that it will still bear influences from his legendary grandparents.
