Food fight

The Times Picayune ^ | 1/17/2007 | brett anderson

[tripletail33goodeats]

By Brett Anderson Last September, Greg Sonnier stuck a "For Sale" sign into the ground outside 438 Henry Clay Ave. It was an act of frustration, not an advertisement, as Sonnier had no intention of selling the property.

Sonnier, one of New Orleans' most respected chefs, and his wife Mary ran Gabrielle, the acclaimed Esplanade Avenue restaurant, for 13 years before it was engulfed by floodwater. Last March, the couple purchased The Uptowner, a reception hall at 438 Henry Clay, with the intention of transforming it into a new and improved Gabrielle. The location was, in the minds of the Sonniers, perfect: a historic building with a beautiful patio on high ground a short walk from their family home. And perfect is precisely how it seemed until last spring, when the Sonniers publicly announced their plans for the property. They soon discovered that the storm did not cleanse the city government of dysfunction, nor did it wash away long-standing conflict over businesses in their Uptown neighborhood.Residents living near 438 Henry Clay fear that a business run by Sonnier, a James Beard nominated chef, will create a parking problem and disrupt the neighborhood's tranquility. They have seized upon a permit and licensing snafu, rooted in the corroded inner workings of New Orleans' City Hall.

The Sonniers have found that the occupational license issued to their business by the city adhered to pretzel logic. The document clearly indicates that the property is licensed to be a restaurant, but in the words of Edward Horan, a zoning administrator with the New Orleans Department of Safety and Permits, the city "issued (the Sonniers) a restaurant license even though they're not licensed to be a restaurant." Eddie Sapir, the former City Council president is the most prominent member of the Sonniers' vocal opposition.

[tripletail33goodeats]

This truly is a city run by a bunch of incompetent fools and crooks. Money given by the Feds should be questioned and watched.

[citizenmike]

Money given by the Feds should be questioned and watched.

I agree with you, but I don't think incompetence is involved in this case. The guy bought a building in a residential neighborhood that had been used occasionally and sporadically for receptions and/or parties. Now he wants to change it into a full service restaurant open 6 or 7 nights a week. The license said "restaurant" but he knew the property was not zoned for that use. He is wrong; the neighbors are right.

[ccmay]

rules have been drawn up that allow reception halls "to have parties, large parties, on a regular or intermittent basis." The license, however, "doesn't allow you to be open to the general public on a walk-in basis."

Treat it like a "private" drinking club in Utah. Five dollars buys you an annual membership to the Gabrielle Gourmet Club, where a members' meeting takes place from 6 to 11 every night but Monday.

Seriously, I can't believe that people living in a vibrant big city would object to one more restaurant nearby. These grouchy, anal-retentive old coots that ought to move to a ticky-tacky suburban subdivision with identical floor plans and a fascist homeowner's association.

-ccm

[Mind-numbed Robot]

You would think they were trying to put a windmill in Ted Kennedy's bay.

[rogue yam]

Seriously, I can't believe that people living in a vibrant big city would object to one more restaurant nearby.

New Orleans is not a vibrant big city. I don't have specific knowledge of this particular location but I would not assume that the neighbors are so wrong on this one. People in N.O. often live on very quiet residential streets with no restaurants or nightclubs at all near by. If I lived on such a street and someone wanted to come in and change it greatly for the worse I might raise objections as well. New Orleanians have long had a love-hate relationship with tourists and revelers. Storyville was created long ago for the purpose of concentrating the naughty nightlife and keeping it away from the quieter, more staid locals. This story might not be so simple as some think.

[Bloody Sam Roberts]

...as well as a legal dispute between the Sonniers and Tisdale Johnson regarding, among other things, the previous Uptowner owner's representation of the property during the sale.

That is something that Mr. Sonnier should keep a wary eye upon.

If his fight with the idiot neighbors and the city does not go his way, he should take that judgement and bring it to bear upon the previous owner of the property.

[IslandJeff]

Welcome to FR. Where is the "Uptown" neighborhood? Is that the area a bit NE of the Quarter/Garden District/etc.?

Lots of great local spots in the residential areas. Or, at least, there used to be. Haven't been there since '97.