A liquor store located on Decatur Street opened last weekend for the first time in more than six months since sustaining damage in Hurricane Ida August 2021.
Sidney’s Wine Cellar, located at 917 Decatur St., reopened Saturday for the first time since the repairs were made to the building caused by Hurricane Ida, owner Sunay Patel told The Quarter Rat.
Customers straggled into the store, despite not having its iconic sign, which Patel said is also currently in repair.
Employees stocked shelves, which appeared full, but to a lesser degree since before the storm. A wide variety of single cans of beer and liquor, cigarettes, etc. were available for purchase, however.
Sidney’s, which is located next to Central Grocery (923 Decatur St.), sustained significant structural damage after heavy winds from Category 4 Hurricane Ida battered New Orleans on August 29, 2021.
“You could see the sky through the ceiling,” said longtime employee Scott Glab, who has worked there since 2004. Glab said he stayed at a friend’s place nearby during the storm and heard a wall falling at the store. “I didn’t know what it was until the next morning.”
The store shares an alleyway with the landmark Central Grocery, which remains temporarily closed while construction crews repair its building, which also took major damage.
The buildings that house Central Grocery and Sidney’s were built about 200 years ago, according to historical records.
Read the complete story in The Quarter Rat’s upcoming April 2022 print edition.