[. . .] As of Dec. 22, the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals had recertified to open 21 percent of the 3,718 retail food establishments that operated in Orleans Parish pre-storm. Tom Weatherly, vice president of communications and research for the Louisiana Restaurant Association, said that percentage is lower than he might have predicted two months ago. It's also deceptive in gauging the restaurant culture's comeback, as those total retail establishments include groceries, convenience stores and national chains, which have been reopening with far less frequency than the locally owned restaurants -- and are far less central to the...
