Orleans Parish Still Half-Empty of Businesses

When I first came to New Orleans as a tourist in 2006, I was impressed by the seeming non-existence of chain restaurants, big-box stores and other corporate presence. The few that were there, such as the Walgreens on Canal Street, were well-blended into the landscape, housed in historic buildings and lending the familiar drugstore chain a charming old-timey feel. Even the McDonald’s on Canal can be missed the first time one passes by, if only because it’s famed golden arches don’t puncture the skyline the way it does in other places, such as my native Florida where it serves as a beacon for those who need to pee when driving I-95. Here, local businesses seemed to take a greater share of the economic pie than in any other city I have visited. It is a defining characteristic of the city – one of the cornerstones of it’s unique culture. I was more than eager to change some of my spending habits in order to take advantage of all the treasures these mom ‘n’ pop shops had to offer. Now living here, I see the danger that encroachment of Big Business on her streets is threatening to swallow up the city’s grace and dignity. Most “recovery” efforts amount to little more than civic leaders wooing corporate carpetbaggers into their offices that they might sell the city away piece by piece, then denying their citizens the money and resources they still desperately need. It is vital to convince all Americans, as well as the government, that New Orleans is much more worthy of salvage than the likes of GM or Fannie Mae. In order to accomplish this, we must first understand why Big Business has so much political support from the masses as well as society’s highest levels. One can start by looking inward.

When I moved to New Orleans three years later, I was quickly blindsided by the inconveniences the lack of corporate chains presented. There are some things you just can’t buy at local business – an air mattress, clothes hangers, cheap appliances, plus-size fashions, and so on. Yes I, a proud liberal with a great distrust for corporate culture, am GUILTY of wishing for Wal-Mart and shopping malls. It turns out that there is a Wal-Mart in Orleans Parish, but it’s difficult to get to from most parts of the city, and, unlike most Wal-Marts, it closes at 10pm.

Then there is Dunkin’ Donuts, Pizza Hut, ABC Liquor –all corporate chains whose absence I found myself lamenting. The former two, as well as the aforementioned malls, can be found in Jefferson Parish, suburban New Orleans, where all the corporate chains familiar to Americans can be found. Yet it is kind of a pain to drive there, usually requiring one to get on the interstate. Orleans residents like to shop in their own neighborhoods if they can help it, and going to Jefferson Parish for anything is inconvenient for many. ABC liquor is a national chain liquor store whose nearest locations to New Orleans are in Tallahassee. Now the familiar liberal argument comes in – why would one wish for these chains when, unlike in the Wal-Mart example, all products purveyed by such are available from local businesses? Let’s look at the options.
Particularly with the restaurants, brand loyalty, price and convenience are important considerations. Dunkin Donuts and Pizza Hut offer consistent, familiar products that have become household favorites for many Americans. The average consumer is a creature of habit, and is often unadventurous in taste – they find something they like and stick to it.
Dunkin Donuts often has drive-thru service – a convenience rarely found in local donut shops. It’s also usually open late. Local New Orleans pastry shops often keep daytime-only hours. It can definitely argued that the local product is superior – the world-famous Café du Monde of the French quarter, with its signature chicory coffee, hot beignets, table service, and if you’re lucky, a cool river breeze. Sadly, most Americans don’t have enough spare time to sit down and enjoy the experience. Sometimes one just wants to grab a dozen that you can devour while driving, and enjoy the extras out of the box for a day or two. Beignets must be eaten before they get cold – no leftovers for tomorrow’s breakfast. New Orleans, increasingly a city populated by “outsiders,” may have to accommodate the tastes and habits of mainstream America – creating a greater demand for corporate names, further challenging the need of the city to maintain its local flavor.
On the matter of pizza, it took me six months in the city to find a local pizza chain that delivers late – ‘till 2a.m! Papa John’s and Domino’s, the two major chains in Orleans Parish, stop taking orders at 10:30 or so – not so convenient in a late-night party town! The service has incredible charm that only a small business can offer – heavy metal music blared in the background as I called in my order, and the pie was delivered by two pretty blonds. A large pepperoni pizza and a huge box of cheese fries set me back a mere twenty dollars, plus tip. The pizza was the thin, extra-salty-extra-greasy kind and the cheese fries were unremarkable, but delivery at that late hour and personable employees at that price is unique and satisfying. No corporate chain could ever offer quite the same. Yet with the lack of heavy advertising available to the big chains, many potential customers are missing out because they don’t know it’s there (and it’s not online or in the phone book). I must admit, however, I don’t want to drive to Jefferson Parish if I’m craving a stuffed-crust.
Finally, the corporate chains will always have the competitive edge on pricing due to buying power. Middle- and working-class customers will most likely go for the lower priced product, especially in trying economic times. Local restaurant owners, many of whom spent their life savings on rebuilding their homes and businesses and are struggling to make ends meet simply cannot afford to offer customers bargain prices. They also tend to pay their employees more than the corporate competition, particularly for full-time help. Unlike a franchise owner, who may have lower overhead and who can afford to give a free meal to an angry customer and charge it to the company tab with nothing out of his pocket, every wasted scrap costs a local proprietor dearly. A Mid-City coffee shop/bar owner I once worked for and whose once-thriving neighborhood business had fallen into despairing slowness, blamed the downturn on corporate competition. “It’s McDonald’s and their new coffee drinks! I oughta write them an email!” Her fears were realistic – although her restaurant was quaint and quirky and offered cooked-to-order homestyle breakfast and lunch favorites, most customers seemed to prefer drive-thru fast-food breakfast at half the price of homemade. The restaurant, Bayou Coffee House, closed in July 2009. It seems that the neighborhood had already forgotten that hers was one of the first watering holes to reopen in the gristly aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
Many retail industries, such as clothing, are so prevalently corporate that the consumer often benefits more going their stores because their buying power enables them to compete on price, quality and lifestyle markets in a way that’s financially impossible for a small business. Particularly for lower-income customers, big-box stores like Wal-Mart, Ross and Marshall’s are a target destination. Such stores offer a wide range of sizes, including plus-sizes, catering to mainstream tastes at prices only sweat-shop labor can provide and the only prices realistic for a working-class budget. Of course, low prices attract customers from all socioeconomic brackets (even the rich like to save money), forming a solid customer base in any city.
Customers whose incomes range from average to extravigant enjoy the wide offerings and familiarity of the mall for nearly every budget and lifestyle. Dump your skinny, fashion-conscious daughter at Guess?, your 14-year-old son at American Eagle Outfitters, then rush to Lane Bryant to stock up on both casual and office fashions cut to fit the ever-increasing waist measurements of the American woman. Then to the Disney Store or JCPenny for the little ones. Although it is certainly possible for small businesses to occupy malls as well, the rents are usually too high for this to be a common practice. Moreover, small business owners rarely can afford the space required to cater to more than one segment of the fashion-retail market.
So it follows that the vast majority of locally-owned clothing retailers are impractical destination for the average shopper. Lack of space requires specialization – men’s and women’s formalwear, high-end consignment, sportswear, local designer boutiques, and couture. Not exactly where Mom is going to do the back-to-school shopping. By default, such establishments usually cater to tourists and the leisure class. Since they can’t compete in price with chain stores, they must target and compete over the customers for whom price isn’t a consideration. This type of customer, in turn, is looking for novelty items, souvenirs, art pieces and lifestyle clothing, items that have no practical use for the average worker or student. Neither a “Blow Here” tee nor a pair of Betsey Johnson lace-up boots fit into the work-oriented lifestyle of most Americans, whose budgets requite them to stick with all-purpose wardrobe that doesn’t violate standard dress codes found in schools and workplaces yet be appropriate for leisure times as well. Additionally, most affluent female customers are enviably thin, so the products they sell target an exclusive group of customers, featuring cutting-edge fashion that’s more artful than useful. There is a place on Canal Street called the Runway Boutique that I drive past daily, but I have never gone inside. Even though it costs nothing to look, I don’t bother because the tiny mannequins in the window with their curve-free figures and revealing cuts might as well be neon signs that say “No Fat Chicks.” The only small stores I’ve ever seen that carry sizes fitting to the overweight majority seem to only offer polyester pant suits, big flowered hats and shoes made to comfort and cover the legs and feet rather than beautify and slenderize them. Like it or not, local businesses can rarely meet the majority’s needs for certain products, opening the doors for greater suburban sprawl and corporate presence in New Orleans.
The advantage of living in a large city is that the local economy can better support the growth of small businesses. Diversity and large, dense populations create a greater variety of needs and wants which allow businesses to compete on price and many other factors. People from New Orleans talk about how much cheaper everything was before Katrina, how in the good ole’ days you could get a shrimp po’boy and a drink for three dollars and when the cost of living was more Middle America than Miami. The population vacuum created by Katrina naturally has drastically changed the city with it’s influx of outsiders, the curious and opportunistic alike. This created a trend towards gentrification – the wealthy folks personally unaffected by Katrina had had their native working classes conveniently eliminated, allowing them to raise the rents, evict the ethnically diverse low-income tenants and reshape the city to attract the kind of people they prefer as their neighbors. For the most part, this means white, educated, well- bred Americans with money to spend.
Meanwhile, another type of underclass replaced the missing blue-collars. Immigrants, many illegal, from Latin America flooded the city, to the point of drastically driving down wages in certain industries such as construction (even though overall wages are higher in New Orleans than in the rest of the country). I was astonished to find so many Vietnamese manning the cash registers and convenience stores and novelty shops, disappointed with their poorly-merchandised wares, sketchy product knowledge and inability to speak English. Apparently I can’t afford to live in neighborhoods where I may enjoy the privilege of polite conversation with the clerk, answers to my questions and not having to wordlessly point to what I want from behind the counter. I drive to work in the suburbs to serve those who can pay for such including the fact that I, the clerk, have a college degree and a knack for witty small talk. This change in the composition of the working class, polarizing the middle class into nonexistence, allows landowners to charge higher prices and hence prevent many Katrina victims from returning home and rewriting the history of the Big Easy by burying the traditions and memories that define her. It has never been easier for outside investors, the corporate elite, to use their buying power to claim all that empty space in one fell swoop before its original owners can rescue their deed from the floodwater. Meanwhile, New Orleans is well on it’s way to facing the same fate that Florida has since Henry Flagler – sink into a mire of commercial exploitation until the only local flavor left is the bags of Café Du Monde coffee and chicory sold in souvenir shops next to the rubber alligators.
For those who want to keep New Orleans special, who want to protect her authenticity and soul, it is a race against time. Even the most radical liberal has at least a few products of corporate America they may or may not secretly love or can’t live without. A bit of corporate presence is necessary (how many times one may have starved to death in an unfamiliar city without McDonald’s familiar golden arches?) However, the first priority, the first dibs on money, aid and tax breaks must go to the local business owner if New Orleans is to remain true to her people and her past. As citizens, it is our job to subsequently hold politicians accountable in upholding this agenda. For every American who has or ever will have a great time in New Orleans, remember this – if it was all about the burgers and beer and fancy shops, you would have no need to escape from Main Street, USA. And for those of us who have come here to live, rich or poor, wondering where the heck to get a bite to eat for cheap, we will have what everyone else is having – the monotony of fast-food drive-thru.