What’s New in New Orleans?

NEW DEVELOPMENTS:

• The Museum of the Southern Jewish Experience will be located at 818 Howard Avenue, in the heart of New Orleans’s cultural and arts district. Its location on the St. Charles streetcar line and proximity to the Dryades/Oretha Castle Haley historic Jewish corridor further enhances the site.
  • The Museum will occupy the entire ground floor, including a unique glass-roofed atrium, as well as half of the second floor. This amounts to approximately 13,000 square feet and will securely accommodate planned exhibits, education spaces, and administrative offices.
  • The Museum will explore Southern Jewish history through imaginative uses of state-of-the-art technology, immersive environments, and opportunities for visitors to take an active, hands-on role in their explorations. Highlights from the Museum’s collection of more than 4,000 artifacts, archival documents and oral histories, will enhance the visitor’s experience.
• The Sazerac House officially opened its doors to the public in September. Located at the corner of Canal and Magazine Streets, less than 350 yards from the original Sazerac Coffee House, The Sazerac House offers an enriching sensory experience that embodies the city’s spirited and historic character.
  • In 2017, the Sazerac Company began work of reimaging and restoring the historic 48,000 square-foot building which was left unoccupied for more than 30 years.
  • The interactive, high-tech experience takes visitors through a journey of the history and culture of spirits in New Orleans including the world-famous Sazerac Cocktail and Sazerac roots.
• The new Louisiana Children’s Museum (LCM) in New Orleans City Park officially opened the doors to its new $47.5 million state-of-the-art facility in August.
  • The new museum is nestled on a lush 8.5-acre site in City Park and is an undeniable asset to New Orleans and Louisiana children and families, as well as visitors from around the country and the world, with a focus on early childhood development for children eight and under.
  • The museum began construction at its new site in May 2017 after 31 years at its beloved location in the Warehouse District.
  • The museum features five interactive, education exhibits, a 100-foot long mighty Mississippi water exhibit, a literacy center, a parent-teacher resource center and Acorn, a Dickie Brennan & Co. café. The museum also features outdoor environmental elements including decks, bridges, sensory and edible gardens, a floating classroom and a restorative, interpretive wetlands.

• Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport will open the new 972,000 square-foot facility on November 6^th.
  • This new, world-class terminal complex will completely replace the current facility.
  • The $1 billion project includes in-line baggage screening, a consolidated security checkpoint to three concourses and 35 gates, a 2,200-car parking garage and more concessions options located down the concourse center aisles.
  • Food and beverage concessions and news, gift and specialty treat retail concessions will feature a mix of local brands representative of Louisiana and New Orleans as well as national brands that appeal to both the local and visiting passengers, including Shake Shack, Mondo, Leah’s Kitchen and Midway Pizza.
  • The new facility is expected to increase the airport’s economic impact by approximately 20% in the next five years and will support 64,000 jobs and $6.4 billion in local spending.
• The New Orleans Museum of Art (NOMA) officially opened the six-acre expansion of the Sydney and Walda Besthoff Sculpture Garden in May. The expansion features new sites for sculpture, an outdoor amphitheater and stage, pedestrian bridges and walkways, a new gallery and an outdoor learning environment.
  • The sculpture garden is free and open to the public seven days a week.
• The Historic New Orleans Collection (THNOC) officially opened a third building in the French Quarter, The Seignouret-Brulatour House, in April.
  • Located at 520 Royal Street, the new building includes the renovation of a 19^th century structure known as the Seignouret-Brulatour House with a state-of-the-art rear addition plus a beautiful interior courtyard.
  • The historic main building houses a major permanent exhibition on the history of the French Quarter, as well as exhibitions exploring the architecture and archaeology of the property. At the rear of the property is a purpose-built museum exhibition facility comprising three state-of-the-art gallery spaces for changing exhibitions.

• The Fillmore New Orleans officially opened its doors in February on Canal Street. The new 2,000-capacity venue, located inside Harrah’s Casino, showcases incredible state-of-the-art production, vintage poster art, VIP amenities, dining options and friendly hospitality.

• New Orleans Culinary & Hospitality Institute (NOCHI) officially launched its inaugural culinary class in January at 725 Howard Avenue.
  • The $32 million culinary and hospitality institute is home to teaching kitchens, a wine and spirits lab, a retail café space, separate classroom and office spaces for NOCHI and Tulane University and an event center on the top floor.
  • A range of enthusiast classes will be offered to locals and visitors alike for those passionate about food, wine and cocktails, looking to improve their skill.
• For a full list of developments, click here.

HOTELS:

• The New Orleans Four Seasons Hotel and Residences are investing $400 million to renovate and operate the 34-story, mixed-use development. The renovated building will house a 341-key hotel on the lower floors and 81 luxury condominiums on the upper floors. The property will include two restaurants, approximately 22,500 square feet of meeting space, a spa and fitness center, a roof-top pool and bar area, and a cultural museum. A two-story roof-top cupola on floors 33 and 34 will be a public observation floor and roof deck.

• ​The National World War II Museum opened the Higgins Hotel & Conference Center, a member of the Curio Collection by Hilton, in October. The hotel will feature 230 guestrooms, a second-floor conference center with more than 18,000 square feet of meeting space, plus restaurants, market and a rooftop venue.
• HI New Orleans, the latest development from Hosteling International, officially opened at 1028 Canal Street in July. The state-of-the-art hostel features 24 private rooms, 122 dorm beds, a large common space and an onsite café, TaCreole.
• Virgin Hotels New Orleans will open their latest lifestyle hotel in the city’s Warehouse District located at 550 Baronne Street in 2021. The project officially broke ground in May.
• Local hospitality group Leblanc + Smith has added Hotel Chloë to their portfolio, a boutique-style hotel, featuring 15 rooms including four suites, a restaurant, a pool, pool bar and lobby bar. Hotel Chloë will be located Uptown on Saint Charles Avenue and is expected to open Winter 2019.
• Maison de la Luz officially opened its doors in April at 546 Carondelet Street. The new boutique luxury property is a distinctive new guest house opened by the creative group behind the Ace Hotel, Atelier Ace. This is the first luxury property Atelier Ace has opened.
  • The Maison de la Luz features 67 suites, private sanctuaries, a bespoke concierge service and a library bar, Bar Manilou opened in May.

RESTAURANTS/BARS:

• Belle Epoque Absinthe Lounge opened in October in the French Quarter. Headed by Laura Bellucci, SoBou’s former head bartender, and Hayley Vanvleet, the opening chef at Curio, the bar is an “extension” of the historic Old Absinthe House on Bourbon Street, considered to be the oldest bar in New Orleans.
• Coquette’s co-chefs Kristen Essig and Michael Stoltzfus opened a new restaurant, Thalia, in the Lower Garden District in early August. The 37-seat restaurant is the latest establishment for the neighborhood and has a focus on community and sustainability.
• The famous Café du Monde officially opened a new café in City Park at the end of July in the former Morning Call location.
  • The new location is open daily serving beignets and café au lait from 6 a.m. to midnight and to 1 a.m. on Friday and Saturday.
• Palm & Pine opened on N. Rampart in early July by chef couple Amarys and Jordan Herndon. The menu reflects cuisine from the southern states, the Caribbean, Mexico and Central America.
• The Louisiana Children’s Museum partnered with local restaurant group, Dickie Brennan & Co. for the onsite restaurant, Acorn. It opened at the museum in late August.
  • The full-service café has seating for 165. There is also a kid’s culinary lab and child size booths.
  • Acorn will serve fresh, family-friendly cuisine, utilizing local ingredients, some sourced from as nearby as the edible garden at the museum. In addition to the café menu, there will be fresh “grab and go” options.
• Chef Donald Link opened his latest concept, Gianna, an Italian restaurant in April.
  • James Beard Award-winning Chef Rebecca Wilcomb is the executive chef of Gianna, located at 700 Magazine Street in the city’s Central Business District.

• Jewel of the South, the latest concept by bartenders Chris Hannah and Nick Detrich, opened June on St. Louis Street in the French Quarter. The bar features a thoughtfully curated cocktail menu as well as a small plates from the kitchen.

• The Franklin officially reopened in the Marigny in April under the culinary leadership of Executive Chef Dane Harris. Reviving the spirit of the restaurant’s previous iteration, the warm and inviting gastrobar celebrates the city’s food and drink culture, love for art and design and vivacity.
• Barracuda, a new taco stand and margarita garden, opened in April on Tchoupitoulas by local hospitality native Brett Jones.
• Acclaimed New York chef Akhtar Nawab opened a Mexican restaurant, Otra Vez, on Julia Street in the city’s South Market District in March.
• In February, Chef Justin Devillier and his wife Mia Freiberger-Devillier opened their third restaurant, Justine, which combines the sophistication of Parisian brasseries with the playfulness of the South’s most lively district, located in the French Quarter at 225 Chartres Street. True to the heart of French brasserie culture, the bustling, multi-roomed restaurant offers a versatile space to be enjoyed by all.
  • Chef Justin Devillier is the Chef/Owner of La Petite Grocery, Balise and Justine, and the 2016 James Beard Award winner for Best Chef South. His wife Mia Freiberger-Devillier is the Director of Operations & Partner at La Petite Grocery, Balise and Justine.

For more information contact Neil Jones at Neil@ttmworld.co.uk and Alex Keelan at Alex@ttmworld.co.uk or telephone the office 0208 460 7082