It’s too early in the game to start writing restaurant obits, but the foodie landscape will change. White Star has announced permanent closure, but if Katrina taught us anything at all, it is this: restaurant folk are resilient. One of the most striking things about that shutdown was what the diaspora of chefs and line cooks meant when NO slowly came back on line. Even the dive bars sported exquisite menus. I’ll take a High Life and the steamed mussels, please. The product got better everywhere. We can only hope for something similar here. But we will take losses. Even the most popular and successful restaurants operate on a very thin margin, and we might be surprised by who gets caught out by the terrible timing and length of this shutdown. And although everyone is working to minimize the resulting economic depression, millions are remembering how much cheaper it is to cook at home.
Like the owner of White Star Market, the owner of Dat’z Italian says they won’t reopen. Not so fast my friend. We don’t know what’s around the corner. We are all in the process of relearning that tomorrow is purely speculation. It’s uncomfortable, definitely, and no one really responds well to uncertainty, but we know that we have to make assumption after assumption to render any kind of plan for the future. The White Star space is ready right now to reopen as an incubator food court. It would take a hefty investment to reshape that space for retail or housing. Perhaps it could be reshaped into an arts and crafts market, but those are weekend opportunities that might not fare well in a struggling economy. The landlord might think twice about not coming to an agreement with White Star if they spend just a little time thinking over their options in a deflated economy. Flea markets aren’t fun or pretty or profitable and no one wants to live beside one. There is a chance White Star could be reborn right there, or somewhere nearby. We just don’t know for sure. I believe the same holds true for Dat’z Italian. Good pizza does come and go, and they might have lost some leverage in the wood fired game to Rocca, but that doesn’t mean they are done, even if they return with a new name in a new space.
Fete au Fete was already gone when the pandemic shut everyone down, but they are worth the mention simply because their food was very good. Unfortunately, that often isn’t enough to make a go of it. White Star provided folks an opportunity to get their product out there to the public for review. Unlike shopping malls and airports, White Star wasn’t traffic driven and chain oriented. Traffic was produced entirely by the tenants. Their mastery of food and service and increasingly their mastery of self promotion on social media is what brought customers in. The communal kitchen and dining space was very helpful for some new faces, but not all.
White Star gave MJ’s Cafe the chance to regroup once more and keep the brand alive while setting up another brick and mortar on Government Street. Their sous chef opened The Dish at White Star. Both enterprises rocked a lot of non-vegan diners with their work and opened a lot of eyes to what is possible when you devote the same time and energy to fruits and grains and vegetables as you do to meat and fish and poultry. A good bit of world cuisine is plant based, and if you ask the old folks, this country was not nearly as meat dependent before the world wars. One possibility of rattling everyone’s cage this hard is that the opportunity to reflect and being forced to abandon long standing habits may result in healthier eating overall. Maybe not right away as everyone rushes to the first pub that opens for a pint and a stack of nachos–but whenever patterns are disrupted, new behaviors result. I wouldn’t be surprised to see many restaurants have food trucks ready to go, to increase curbside delivery, and to think long and hard about scrapping Waitr and developing their own delivery menus and teams, perhaps even in concert with other restaurants. Certainly the next White Star will have pickup and delivery options for all their tenants to take advantage of. I’m a little surprised that the benefit crawfish boils haven’t inspired parking lot fried catfish, red beans, and jambalaya. Festival style with tents and servers running fresh food out to car windows. I’m also surprised no one has hopped on the festival food bandwagon and loaded their food truck with fried turkey legs and Scotch eggs.
I never really thought that Empanola was going to make it anyway, but I was hoping to be proved wrong. Setting up right across from Gov’t Taco was not good. The tacos were much quicker and a “thing” for many more customers than empanadas, but they had made it work in NO, so there was hope for them here. I wonder if they could team up with someone else and expand the menu or just offer an alternative menu at the same brick and mortar. It’s not unheard of. I went to a sushi/Mexican joint in Mobile, Uno Dos Tacos and Bayou Boyz share a counter and storefront in Arlington Marketplace, and gas stations often have more than one chain inside. Unlikely allies happen in times of war, and Empanola might find a place in a bar looking to rent out their kitchen in the new world we are headed toward.
Gov’t Taco was arguably the anchor of White Star Market from its inception. Jay Ducote’s fame was already established, and the taco pop ups had created just the kind of social media excitement that White Star needed to open the food hall. Gov’t Taco initially drew the customers who would come back to try the other brands under the White Star roof. They already had a brick and mortar picked out and under development when everything went sideways. I’m pretty confident they will find the backing they need to keep going. We don’t know what kind of space they envision–are we thinking family friendly or tequila shots?–but specialty tacos made it all happen for The Rum House and who knows, maybe they’ll invite their friends from Empanola to join the cause.
The Rutledge would be a great loss to Baton Rouge. Their dedication to top notch food stands out. White Star wasn’t really their prime location, but I really hope they stay in the game. If I were running The Watermark Hotel downtown, I would think long and hard about offering these guys the space currently occupied by Milford’s on Third. That would land them right in the middle of those customers with the means and motive to seek out the best possible salads and sandwiches. They would complement rather than compete with The Gregory, and everyone would benefit. We need good outcomes when this disaster ends. Retaining The Rutledge would certainly be a gift.
Chow Yum Phat launched their brand at White Star and then opened a brick and mortar at the underpass on Perkins in the old City Pork space. They are fighting very hard to stay in the game, offering curbside pickup and delivery through multiple apps, hosting benefit crawfish boils, and collaborating with Curbside on specialty burgers and tots. This is the clearest picture of the future I have seen so far: Instagram driven sales, deep community involvement, a commitment to staff as well as management. Several other stores citywide are also doing their best. Mid City Beer Garden, Rocca Pizzeria, and Iverstine Butcher all deserve a shout out for giving it their best shot. I personally don’t want to lose a single Baton Rouge establishment, but that is unrealistic. We will mourn those we lose and celebrate those who make it through to the other side, but it is too early to give up on anyone at all right now. I can’t wait to head over to Phil Brady’s for a High Life and blues jam, or down to NO to meet up with friends at Henry’s Uptown Bar, Mid City Yacht Club, Jimani, or Ms Mae’s. Also hope that LUVI makes it through this mess because they are next on my list of places to try down there. Like I said, too early to count anyone out, but prepare yourself, we will all lose at least one place we love.