Tag: coronavirus
BREAKING: All three Bourbon Street Johnny White’s locations close permanently
(Photo: Mark Gsthol | CC Flickr)
Three Johnny White’s locations—including the Hole in the Wall, Corner Pub and Pub and Grill—in 718 to 720 Bourbon Street are reportedly shutting the fuck down for good, according to the New Orleans Times-Picayune | Advocate.
The White family is scheduled to close on the sale of the three-story building located on the corner of Bourbon and Orleans streets, a deal in the making since last year, the newspaper reported Friday.
Johnny White’s had a reputation for not closing its doors, even during Hurricane Katrina.
The fourth Johnny White’s bar, located at 733 St. Peter Street, is still open but currently shuttered due to coronavirus restrictions.
This is a developing story.
Unique Grocery on Royal Street ordered to shut down for not regulating social distancing
(Photo: Paul Sableman | CC Flickr)
Unique Grocery store, located at 127 Royal St., was issued a “social distancing” cease and desist order from the city. It’s unclear when the order was issued, although one resident captured a photo of the order posted to the front door on Thursday.
The store was declared “dangerous and unsafe” because people “cannot maintain social distancing,” according to the city notice, “cease desist operations until operational plan.”
A city spokeswoman didn’t respond to emails seeking comment on Friday.
The city recently, on May 16, entered “Phase One” reopening as coronavirus restrictions are eased for “low-risk” businesses, while still being required to maintain public health guidelines, including limiting occupancy.
The Department of Safety and Permits is tasked with enforcing Phase One requirements.
Visit nola.ready.gov for a full list of reopening guidelines.
Bourbon Pub Parade files class-action lawsuit after insurance company denies coronavirus-related claim
A Bourbon Street nightclub on Monday sued its insurance company for alleged breach of contract after a claim for damages caused by a forced shutdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic was denied.
Bourbon Pub Parade, located at 801 Bourbon St., sued Nautilus Insurance for breach of contract after the company denied to cover a claim for ongoing damages caused by a city order ceasing business operations to prevent coronavirus spread, according to a federal lawsuit filed on May 4.
New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell issued a March 16 proclamation ordering certain businesses, including bars, to close as a measure to prevent the spread of coronavirus. This includes the vast majority of businesses in the French Quarter, which relies heavily on tourism income.
While the actual economic impact from the business closures has yet to be fully quantified, tourists in New Orleans spent $9.1 billion in 2018, with much of it driven by leisure- and work-related travel, according to the city’s Tourism Marketing Corporation.
French Quarter Festival, Satchmo Summerfest canceled due to COVID-19
“The damages [Bourbon Pub Parade] has sustained were not ’caused by or resulting from’ COVID-19,” the lawsuit states. “Rather, the proximate cause of…losses were the precautionary measures taken by the mayor of New Orleans and the Louisiana governor to prevent spread of COVID-19 in the future.”
The insurance purchased by Bourbon Pub Parade included an “all-risk” policy that provided coverage for all risks, unless the risk was specifically excluded, according to the lawsuit, adding that the policy includes coverage for business interruption, extra expense, civil authority and extended business income.
While the policy doesn’t provide an exclusion for losses stemming from a pandemic, it does exclude losses “caused by or resulting from any virus, bacterium or other microorganism that induces or is capable of inducing physical distress, illness or disease,” according to the lawsuit.
Nautilus denied the insurance claim on two grounds: first, that the bar and surrounding property didn’t suffer any physical damage; and second, the policy’s virus and bacteria exclusion.
Bourbon Pub Parade, however, said Nautilus’ reasons are erroneous because of the impact coronavirus is having on physical spaces throughout the world.
Citing coronavirus studies, the bar said contaminated surfaces could serve as a potential source of transmission.
“Based on what is understood about the way COVID-19 is transmitted, it is clear that the insured premises and surrounding areas have sustained direct physical losses within the meaning of the policy,” said Bourbon Pub Parade.
Additionally, the bar said losses aren’t directly attributed to coronavirus, but Cantrell’s order forcing it to close.
In the lawsuit, Bourbon Pub Parade requests a jury trial and class-action certification, which could involve other plaintiffs that are denied similar claims.
Read the lawsuit below:
Bourbon-Pub-ParadeFrench Quarter Festival, Satchmo Summerfest canceled due to COVID-19
Two annual festivals held in the French Quarter for the last several decades were canceled, organizers announced on Thursday, adding to the increasing financial blow to businesses and growing list of events nixed due to the shutdown of the New Orleans tourist economy caused by closures and stay-at-home orders issued during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In a Twitter statement on May 7, the nonprofit organizer of the French Quarter Festival and Satchmo Summerfest said both 2020 events were officially canceled and were rescheduled in 2021.
Additionally, the organizer, French Quarter Festival, Inc., launched a resilience campaign to raise money that will cover the loss of revenue caused by the pandemic.
Mayor LaToya Cantrell issued a March 16 order closing certain businesses, including bars and live performance venues that compose much of the French Quarter. Gov. John Bel Edwards’ issued a statewide stay-at-home order on March 22, which was extended to at least May 15.
French Quarter Festival, which started in 1984 and is described as one of America’s largest free music festivals, was postponed until October this year but rescheduled for April 8 to 11 in 2021.
Satchmo Summerfest, which celebrates the life of New Orleans jazz trumpeter Louis Armstrong and is held in early August, is rescheduled for July 30 to August 1, 2021.
Both festivals combined contribute to the generate substantial financial support annually for businesses and musicians in the French Quarter.
Jazz, Voodoo and Essence festivals were also canceled this year due to coronavirus.
People who visited the New Orleans in 2017 contributed nearly $8.8 billion to the local economy, according to the city’s Tourism Marketing Corporation, which spent almost $16.7 million promoting the city in the same year.