Last Saturday, as I was walking to the Satchmo Summerfest, I noticed the hum of renovation-related activity in the 500 block of Frenchmen Street. Laborde’s Printing, the last vestige of the light industrial past of the street, is being turned into a nightclub and restaurant.
Set to open in October, Bamboula’s will feature two stages, three bars and a menu specializing in Creole-Caribbean fusion cuisine. A peek inside revealed a gorgeous property in the early stages of renovation. The wide open first floor features intricate floor tiling reminiscent of many other buildings from the early 20th century. The ceiling, though dusty and in disrepair, appears to be made of pressed tin.
Readers with long memories will remember the period when Frenchmen Street was home to an oyster house, a bakery, and other businesses that operated primarily during the daytime. The street was dark and deserted at night until the 1970s, when the Faubourg opened in the spot that now houses Snug Harbor Jazz Bistro and the Dream Palace opened in the building where the Blue Nile currently presents music on two stages.
With the opening of Bamboula’s, Frenchmen Street is poised to turn a corner in its development. Music flows from nearly a dozen businesses on the four-block stretch that the city calls the Frenchmen Street Arts and Cultural District. But growth has brought change and conflict between residents, tourists (who rarely ventured into the area less than ten years ago), and business owners.
It remains to be seen if the district can handle another business, particularly one with enough space for a large restaurant and a stage size that will allow it to compete with the Blue Nile, which has the largest capacity on the street.
Photo: Louis Maistros. All rights reserved.
