Taco Bell Proposed at Broad and Bienville

August 5, 2015 by Charlie London

letter from Jeff Schwartz

You have until January 18, 2016 to send in your comments to [email protected] about the Taco Bell proposed at 223 North Broad.
Include the link to this post if you like… https://fsjna.org/2015/08/taco-bell-proposed-at-broad-and-bienville/

Dear Neighbors,
A proposal is being developed to put a drive-through Taco Bell on the corner of Broad and Bienville Streets, diagonally across from the ReFresh Project (with Whole Foods and Liberty’s Kitchen, among others). This is not in keeping with the new Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance or Master Plan, nor is it anything close to realizing the potential of this major Broad Street property.

The developer has already attempted to conduct a Neigbhorhood Participation Plan meeting with minimal notice in a very inconvenient location. We encourage everyone who thinks this property and our neighborhood would benefit from a better development proposal to voice their opinions to the City Planning Commission (email [email protected]) and to Councilmember Latoya Cantrell, in whose district this proposal resides, as well as Councilmembers Susan Guidry and Jared Brossett, whose districts are near this site. Their emails are:
LaToya Cantrell: [email protected]
Susan Guidry: [email protected]
Jared Brossett: [email protected]

More information can be found below, to help you prepare to contact the Planning Commission and Council members. This is a cornerstone of the future of Broad Street, and our hope is that, with your participation, we can ensure that the owners develop a high-quality project that contributes to the health and vibrancy of the communities along Broad Street.

Please do not hesitate to contact me with any questions or comments!

========
BACKGROUND
The property at 219-223 N Broad Street, catercorner to the ReFresh Project at Broad and Bienville, is currently five vacant lots, covering 20,000 square feet in an HU-MU district. The site also is zoned with various overlays that provide for an urban, pedestrian-friendly design, encourages vibrant mixtures of land uses, and renders fast food, gas stations, and auto-oriented proposals conditional uses. Despite the fact that Broad Community Connections has worked over the last 15 months to encourage a high-quality use for the site, the current owners are now proposing a Taco Bell at the corner, which Broad Community Connections has serious concerns about from a land use, design, and community development perspective.

Below is Broad Community Connections‘ summary

Land Use:
The proposal is not in alignment with either the former CZO, under which they bought the property, or particularly the new CZO. We worked hard with many partner and community organizations to create opportunities to have small businesses, restaurants, music clubs, and quality design on Broad, as evidenced by not only the HU-MU base zoning, but the Arts and Culture and Enhancement Corridor overlays. From the design of the building, to the drive-through, to the siting of the building and parking, very little in the proposal complies with the letter or the spirit of the Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance.

More importantly, it is actively undermining the work that Broad Community Connections has been leading with its public and community partners to create a safer, more walkable and pedestrian-friendly corridor. Working with the City and the RPC, we have been gradually implementing a ‘road diet’ and bicycle lane from Gentilly Blvd. to Tulane Avenue. This section of Broad is undergoing a city-led streetscape improvement, and the Lafitte Greenway is a block and a half away. Just as the HU-MU zoning stipulates, we are looking to create a more mixed-use, urban corridor, and this proposal is instead moving in the opposite direction towards suburban, auto-oriented uses.

Community Development:
The proposal is not filling a need. There are already three fast food restaurants within one block of the proposed location–McDonald’s, Burger King, and Rally’s–as well as a Subway a few blocks away, and another McDonald’s at St. Bernard Avenue. There are also numerous other takeout and corner stores such as Eat Well, Broad and Banks Seafood, Orchid Seafood, Broadview Seafood, McHardy’s, and others, all within blocks of this site.

The communities along Broad Street suffer from some of the highest rates of chronic and diet-related diseases in the country, and some of the worst health disparities in the country. BCC, MCNO, Friends of Lafitte Greenway, and many other partners having been working tirelessly to create opportunities for community members to have healthier options, and this location would be ideal to take a first step towards that, but is instead taking a step backwards.

Economic Development:
Taco Bell pays low wages and offers few opportunities for promotion and training. In addition, the proposed hours of the drive-through–4AM on weeknights and 5AM on weekends–present some safety and quality of life concerns in a community that still has issues with crime (there have been two murders within two blocks of this site in the last month).

More importantly, this site could be put to a much higher and better use! The owners could make more money, the city could grow its tax base, and the neighborhood could benefit from new commercial and residential spaces and amenities.
========
jeffrey schwartz | m.c.p.
executive director | broad community connections

Click here to view the letter concerning the meeting about the Taco Bell on Broad held December 14, 2015

Proposed plans for a Taco Bell on Broad
Proposed plans for a Taco Bell on Broad

***

schwartz2015aug4At the August 4th, 2015 Faubourg St. John Neighborhood Association meeting,  Jeff Schwartz of Broad Community Connections talked about the need for healthy food options along Broad.

Information below from Jeff Schwartz

tacobellbroad
The property diagonally across from the ReFresh Project— at Broad and Bienville, on the far/Lake side of the intersection–is currently five vacant lots, covering 20,000 square feet in a C-1A district with an Inner City Urban Corridor overlay that provides for design review and renders fast food and gas stations conditional uses. The current owner has proposed a Taco Bell at the site.

The proposed hours of operation are shown below.

Sunday through Thursday
Lobby: 7 am – 11 pm
Drive-up: 7 am – 4 am

Friday & Saturday  
Lobby: 7 am – 11 pm
Drive-up: 7 am – 5 am

Future Land Use: This site is slated to become an AC/EC MU-1 district, with the intent of creating mixtures of uses with arts and cultural uses and pedestrian-friendly amenities.

View the proposed plans here.
Proposed-Taco-Bell-at-Broad-Bienville

***

Alicia Serrano of the Mid City Messenger attended Faubourg St. John’s August 4th, 2015 meeting and reported the following:

guidry2015aug4City Councilwoman Susan Guidry said she will begin studying ways for the city to make the growing Fourth of July festivities on Bayou St. John go more smoothly for attendees, and also announced that the City Council has formed a new committee on bicycle safety following the latest death of a bicyclist.

Bicycle safety
“We have now put together a Pedestrian and Bicycle Safety Advisory Committee,” Council member Susan Guidry said at the Faubourg St. John Neighborhood Association meeting on Tuesday.

Guidry said that as serving on the Transportation Committee for City Council, she held a meeting about laws pertaining to the roads and bicyclists.

“I did an entire transportation committee meeting about a year ago on the rules of the roads, bicyclists and motorists and it was pretty thorough, we went through all the state laws, all the ordinances,” Guidry said.

According to Guidry the Pedestrian and Bicycle Safety Advisory Committee will be compromised of members from organizations such as Bike Easy, an organization dedicated to bicycling and transportation access issues, and the Advocacy Center, focused on offering services to seniors and citizens with disabilities. Guidry also mentioned that members from the University of New Orleans will also be on the committee for collecting data.

“We thought about everyone that should be on that committee and we’re going to be looking at safety for bicycles, pedestrians, and of course motorists,” Guidry said.

Guidry said that the growth of bicycle lanes around the city has happened at a fast pace, but there are still areas that need improvement.

“Our bicycle lanes, the number of miles have grown so quickly, and yet there are places like the Broad Street overpass where it’s really not safe,” Guidry said.

“There are good bike lanes leading up to places that then poof. All of a sudden there’s nothing and so as fast as we are putting in bike lanes we have all these issues still.”

Gudiry said she thinks it is exciting that many people are biking around the city, but many still need to be educated on the biking rules as she mentioned that there are bikers who bike on the wrong side of the road.

Guidry urged both bikers and drivers to be aware of each other on the road.

“I just would ask that the people in their cars, start thinking in terms of, it’s not just about cars out there on the road, it’s not just cars and start being more careful,” Guidry said. “And then people on bicycles, not to think it’s okay just to shoot through red lights.”

“It’s your red light as well as motorists’ red light,” Guidry said.

The Bayou on the Fourth of July
Guidry also mentioned that she will be talking with city officials about Bayou St. John being a “destination spot” for the 4th of July and the Krewe of Kolososs boat parade.

“The Krewe of Kolossos, I know that there were a lot of people who enjoyed it, but also there were a lot of issues as a result of it,” Guidry said.

Guidry said that many people have picnicked along the Bayou this year and in previous years while waiting to see the parade in the evening.

“That is something that the Krewe doesn’t feel like they can be responsible for and understandably, it is just a general public coming out,” she said.

Guidry said that she is meeting with city officials next week to discuss plans to make the area a better spot for the festivities.

“I don’t think there is any going back from there, you can’t shoo people off and do what you want to and we need to determine how we’re going to deal with it because there needs to be port-a-lets out there and there needs to be sanitation and pick up,” Guidry said.

“I am bringing that to the administration’s attention so that we can work on it and determine how we are going to deal with it in the future.”

Confederate statues
Guidry also announced that the Historic District Landmarks Commission and the Human Relations Commission will hold two public meetings this month to discuss the removal of the four Confederate statues (Robert E. Lee statue, Jefferson Davis statue, PGT Beauregard Equestrian statue and the Battle of Liberty Place Monument Confederate statue).

According to Guidry the HDLC meeting will take place at 1 p.m. and the Human Relations Commission meeting will take place at 6 p.m. on August 13th in the City Council Chambers.

Once the meetings take place, each organization will make a recommendation to the Council and then the Council will made a final decision.

“I really think that it was meant to be a conversation to lead to reconciliation,” Guidry said.

“I think that it was kind of dropped on everybody in a way that made everyone scatter to one corner or another and I think that is unfortunate because I do think it’s a conversation that could bring us all closer to understanding each other.”

http://midcitymessenger.com/2015/08/05/guidry-city-to-study-fourth-of-july-issues-on-the-bayou-bicycle-safety-committee-formed-after-latest-fatality/

*************************************************************************

Draft Agenda for the Faubourg St. John Neighborhood Association Meeting
Tuesday, September 1st at 7 p.m.
Fair Grounds Black Gold room

I. Call to Order

II. Roll Call

III. Explanation of Meeting Rules

IV. Guests/Topics (order subject to change)
• Quality of Life update – Officer Lavigne
• Fairgrounds Patrol update – Capt. Scott

V. Committee Reports/Updates/Actions (if any)
• Landscape Committee
• Membership Committee – Update
• Events Committee – Update
• Rebridge – Update
• Treasurer’s Report
• Public Safety – Update
• Zoning Committee – Update

VI. Old Business — Approval of minutes from August 4th meeting
From Floor

VIII. New Business
IX. Adjournment

Filed Under: Featured, HISTORY Tagged With: bienville, broad, highest and best use, inner city, New Orleans, planning for the future, refresh project, run for the border, taco bell, taco bell mid-city, taco bell near whole foods, taco bell new orleans, taco bell on broad, urban corridor, urban development

How Can the Refresh Project Serve You?

January 6, 2015 by Charlie London

refreshing-chat

TUESDAY, JANUARY 13th at 6 pm in Liberty’s Kitchen at 300 North Broad in New Orleans.

Filed Under: More Great Posts! Tagged With: bienville, broad, grocery, law office, mid-city, movies, New Orleans, refresh, refresh project, restaurant, theater, whole foods

Refreshed Liberty’s Kitchen Opens Tuesday

August 24, 2014 by Charlie London

libertys-kitchen4webLiberty’s Kitchen at the ReFresh Project

GRAND reOPENING

Join Liberty’s Kitchen to celebrate our expansion to the ReFresh Project!

FOOD, FUN, & FESTIVITIES
Tuesday, August 26 at 9:00 am
at our new ReFresh home
300 North Broad Street

 Light refreshments and guided tours following the opening celebration.

After a six month construction process, Liberty’s Kitchen has reopened to the public at its new 10,000 square foot location in the ReFresh Project, a “fresh food hub” anchored by Whole Foods Market at 300 N. Broad Street.

The expanded space will enable the organization to double its Youth Development and School Nutrition programs’ capacities within three years. This opportunity translates to 200 Liberty’s Kitchen students per year and up to 3,500 students served daily with healthy meals, totaling more than 1.4 million meals per year!

The new Liberty’s Kitchen facility features a state of the art Emeril Lagasse Foundation Teaching Kitchen, classroom, office space, and retail café and coffee shop serving Starbucks coffee.

Initial hours of operation are Monday through Friday from 7:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., featuring breakfast pastries, bagels and full lunch menu with salads, sandwiches, burgers, and traditional New Orleans fare.

Private parties of 10 to 20 can be accommodated for breakfast, lunch, or dinner events. A full catering service is also available for offsite events.

Liberty’s Kitchen’s expansion into the ReFresh Project will provide additional opportunities to enhance and sustain its programs, including groundbreaking partnerships with tenants Whole Foods Market and Tulane University’s Goldring Center for Culinary Medicine.

At 9:00 a.m. Tuesday, Aug. 26, Liberty’s Kitchen staff and students invite the community to celebrate a grand opening with them in the ReFresh parking lot. Liberty’s Kitchen’s expansion is made possible with leadership support from Harry & Jeanette Weinberg Foundation, Emeril Lagasse Foundation, Fox Family Foundation, Arena Energy Foundation, Caesars Foundation, Libby Dufour Fund, RosaMary Foundation, Ella West Freeman Foundation, Frischhertz Electric Company, Woodward Design+Build, Domain Companies, Selley Foundation, Mrs. E.M. Gorence, Walter Robb, and Boh Brothers Centennial Fund.

libertys-kitchen-front4web

Filed Under: Featured Tagged With: bienville, broad, liberty, liberty's kitchen, New Orleans, refresh, refresh project

Excitement Builds Over Refresh Project

January 23, 2014 by Charlie London

restorethebayoucanopy1As a part of Whole Foods Market’s commitment to the community and in celebration of the store’s opening, the Arabella Station, Veterans and Broad St. stores will host a series of 1% community giving days during the Broad St. location’s opening week. Guests can support getting more trees along Bayou St. John this Friday, February 7, 2014 by shopping at one of the New Orleans Whole Foods Market stores:

Friday, Feb. 7 – Restore the Bayou Canopy
Replacing southern live oak trees along Bayou St. John lost during hurricanes Katrina and Isaac. These trees have provided shade and improved the quality of life for neighborhood residents for centuries.

***

Special to The Advocate By Roberta Grove

This past weekend, the New Orleans community had an opportunity to preview Whole Foods Broad Street during a grass-roots party to connect the store with its new Mid-City neighborhood. Approximately 800 people turned out to meet the Whole Foods team and the community impact partners that make this particular Whole Foods store opening one of the most unique projects in the country.

The extensive store renovation includes a physical on-site presence for several key organizations that include Firstline Schools, Liberty’s Kitchen, The Goldring Center for Culinary Medicine at Tulane University and Broad Street Community Connections. Each tenant partner serves a unique function that helps to advance its individual mission, yet each entity shares a universal vision — that of perpetuating a healthy lifestyle through education, accessibility and affordability.

“The Broad Street neighborhood is coming back, and Whole Foods is thrilled to play a part of that revitalization. Along with our partners, we hope to affect healthy lifestyle changes through education and through our community outreach programs,” Whole Foods Community Relations representative Kristina Bradford said.

Some of the programs you’ll discover at Broad Street are regular healthy eating classes offered both at the store and remotely at various locations throughout the community. According to Bradford, there will also be support from the store to help consumers make healthy food choices while watching their budget.

During a recent guided tour of the 25,000-square-foot facility, there was attention to detail that seemed to reflect the Mid-City neighborhood and the people who live there. The store definitely communicates an old New Orleans-style grocery store vibe but with the type of merchandise its customers are accustomed to seeing on shelves.

What is different at Broad Street is an expanded local vendor relationship. For example, there’s locally roasted French Truck Coffee Chicory Blend on store shelves alongside the usual line of java. You’ll also discover freshly baked goods by a variety of local vendors that includes Breads on Oak, Gracious Bakery, Laurel Street Bakery and the traditional Leidenheimer French breads.

There’s even a gumbo bar that merges fresh, local ingredients with the talents and resources of Liberty’s Kitchen.

On a swing around the old Schwegmann’s Supermarket parking lot where the preview party was held, I chatted with several of the community partners that have been intimately involved with the project from its inception. Jeff Schwartz, executive director for Broad Community Connections, was one of the key visionaries that helped to obtain a Main Street designation for ReFresh.

“This is beyond our wildest dreams,” Schwartz said. “Everyone deserves a healthy quality of life. It’s both our right and our responsibility to the residents of this neighborhood.

“It’s these old New Orleans neighborhoods that are the backbone of our culture.”

Virtually every key partner with whom I spoke at the preview party echoed that same mantra.

“This project provides the opportunity for profound social impact,” said Liberty’s Kitchen Program Director Dennis Bagneris. “We want to see this project replicated in other areas.”

Whole Foods Broad Street and all of its nonprofit community partners are demonstrating a steadfast commitment to improving the quality of life for all residents. This revitalization effort should serve as a prototype for what neighborhoods throughout the country can aspire to.

For an overview of the ReFresh project, visit www.broadcommunityconnections.org.

For details and more information on Whole Foods Broad Street, contact Kristina Bradford at [email protected]
2dollarsoff

Click on the coupon to print it.

2dollarsoff1

Click on the coupon to print it.

 

Mid-City New Orleans welcomes a new Whole Foods Market(r) store
Broad Street store anchors the ReFresh project with Tulane University’s Goldring Center for Culinary Medicine, Liberty’s Kitchen, Broad Community Connections, and FirstLine Schools

On Tuesday, Feb. 4, the Whole Foods Market Broad St. store will open at the corner of Broad and Bienville streets after an 8:15 a.m. bread breaking ceremony featuring a garden grant and new foundation announcements. The 25,000-square-foot store will open its doors offering a full range of high-quality natural and organic foods including a vast assortment of more than 330 locally-sourced offerings from some of Louisiana’s most highly-regarded community producers, more than 100 organic produce items, and hundreds of products exclusive to Whole Foods Market.
The first 500 shoppers at the store will receive the new line of New Orleans reusable bags with Whole Foods Market product samples. Shoppers can also enjoy special store opening sales and music, as well as tips and tours with the Whole Foods Market healthy eating educators.
As a part of Whole Foods Market’s commitment to the community and in celebration of the store’s opening, the Arabella Station, Veterans and Broad St. stores will host a series of 1% community giving days during the Broad St. location’s opening week. Guests can support a different local non-profit each day simply by shopping at one of the New Orleans Whole Foods Market stores:

Tuesday, Feb. 4 – Providence Community Housing<http://www.providencecommunityhousing.org/>

Fosters healthy, diverse and vibrant communities by developing, operating and advocating for affordable, mixed-income housing, supportive services and employment opportunities for individuals, families, seniors and people with special needs.

Wednesday, Feb. 5 – Edgar “Dooky” Jr. & Leah Chase Family Foundation<http://www.dookychasefoundation.org/>

Seeks to cultivate and support historically disenfranchised organizations by making significant contributions to education, creative and culinary arts, and social justice.

Thursday, Feb. 6 – Youth Run NOLA<http://www.yrnola.org/>

Empowers underserved youth through running, with an eight-month guided training program that emphasizes the long-term significance of empowerment, physical activity and mental resiliency in youth.

restorethebayoucanopy1Friday, Feb. 7 – Restore the Bayou Canopy<http://www.mothershipfoundation.wordpress.com/>

Replacing southern live oak trees along Bayou St. John lost during hurricanes Katrina and Isaac. These trees have provided shade and improved the quality of life for neighborhood residents for centuries.

Saturday, Feb. 8 – The Roots of Music<http://www.therootsofmusic.org/>

Provides free, year-round music education to kids ages 9-14, with a mission to teach, support and empower the youth of New Orleans while preserving and promoting the city’s unique musical and cultural heritage.
In keeping with Whole Foods Market tradition, the Broad St. store is customized for the surrounding community and features local cultural flair and repurposed materials, and these special attributes:

*       Healthy eating classes and events onsite and in the community

*       Repurposed pallet wood used on columns and throughout the store

*       Salvaged “Peace” building graffiti panels installed in store

*       Electric vehicle charging stations and bike fix-it station

*       Two healthy eating educators on-site to answer questions, craft recipes, and host tours

*       NOLA-specific reusable better bag

*       Local French Truck Coffee at the coffee bar

*       More than 330 local products including more than 115 items in the bakery, 82 items in the Whole Body department, and 80 products in the grocery aisles

*       Original terrazzo floor featured throughout the store

*       Original grocery store letters from a previous tenant used in the “NOLA pride” accent above the entrance

*       Art-o-mat to feature “art to go” with local art available

Once the building construction is complete, the community will be able to experience the full potential of the ReFresh project with tenant partners Liberty’s Kitchen, Tulane University’s Goldring Center for Culinary Medicine, Broad Community Connections, and FirstLine Schools, in addition to other collaborators around healthy eating and food access initiatives, including budget-friendly meal planning, store tours, health screenings and more.

For more information about the Whole Foods Market Broad St. store, visit:   wholefoodsmarket.com/stores/broadstreet
Whole Foods Market Broad St.
300 N. Broad St., Suite 103
New Orleans, LA 70119
Store Hours: 8 a.m. – 8 p.m. daily
Phone: (504) 434-3364

Find us online:

Louisiana Suppliers: [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>
Facebook: Whole Foods Market New Orleans
Twitter: wfm_louisiana
Instagram – wholefoods_louisiana
###

About Whole Foods Market(r)
Founded in 1980 in Austin, Texas, Whole Foods Market (wholefoodsmarket.com<http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com>, NASDAQ: WFM), is the leading natural and organic food retailer. As America’s first national certified organic grocer, Whole Foods Market was named “America’s Healthiest Grocery Store” by Health magazine. The company’s motto, “Whole Foods, Whole People, Whole Planet”(tm) captures its mission to ensure customer satisfaction and health, Team Member excellence and happiness, enhanced shareholder value, community support and environmental improvement. Thanks to the company’s more than 78,000 Team Members, Whole Foods Market has been ranked as one of the “100 Best Companies to Work For” in America by FORTUNE magazine for 15 consecutive years. In fiscal year 2013, the company had sales of $12.9 billion and currently has more than 360 stores in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom.

For store updates, community and event news, and new product information, follow us on Twitter @wfm_louisiana<http://twitter.com/WFM_Louisiana>, Facebook www.facebook.com/wholefoodsnola<http://www.facebook.com/wholefoodsnola> and www.facebook.com/wholefoodsbr<http://www.facebook.com/wholefoodsbr>, and Instagram @wholefoods_louisiana.

preview-refresh

THE GRAND OPENING OF WHOLE FOODS MARKET BROAD STREET!
Join us on Tuesday, February 4 for the Bread-Breaking & Grand Opening at Whole Foods Market Broad Street starting at 8:15am!Be among the first 500 guests and receive a free NOLA Better Bag!Enjoy free coffee and pastries while you wait for doors to open at 9:00am, then music, special deals and more fun all day long!


Whole Foods Market Broad Street
300 North Broad Street, Suite 103
New Orleans, Louisiana 70119
P: 504.434.3364

The ReFresh Project is an adaptive reuse of the former Schwegmann’s supermarket building at Broad and Bienville.

The project that will include a new Whole Foods Market, Liberty’s Kitchen full service café and commercial kitchen, and The Goldring Center for Culinary Medicine at Tulane University. The fresh food access development has the dual purpose of anchoring economic development in the Broad Street commercial corridor and delivering much-needed, high-quality fresh foods and health-related programs to underserved communities along Broad Street. The development will also include office and community space, including the central office for FirstLine Schools and the offices of Broad Community Connections.

Heard about the new ReFresh Project on Broad Street but curious about why it’s so fresh?

Did you know that the ReFresh Project is more than a new Whole Foods Market?

refresh-wholefoods-2014january

The Whole Foods Market Broad St. store will open Tuesday, Feb. 4

with coffee and refreshments at 7:45 a.m., opening ceremonies at 8:15 a.m. and doors opening at 9 a.m. The community will have the opportunity to attend a Preview Party Saturday, Feb. 1 from 12 to 3 p.m. with a sneak peek of the 25,000-square-foot store, ReFresh partners, samples from local and national suppliers, Whole Foods Market healthy eating educators, and more. The events are free and open to the community.

The Whole Foods Market Broad St. store anchors the ReFresh Project, a 60,000-square-foot development that aims to stimulate growth in New Orleans’ Broad Street commercial corridor and to improve access to fresh, high-quality food and health-related programs in the community. More details, tenant profiles, and video are available in the online press kit at www.bit.ly/wholefoodsbroadst.

refresh1-wholefoods-2014januaryWhole Foods Market(r) Broad Street to Donate Percentage
of First Five Days’ Sales to Local New Orleans Non-Profits
Arabella Station and Veterans stores to participate

For an opening week celebration that begins Feb. 4, the Whole Foods Market Broad St. store will donate one percent of the first five day’s net sales to non-profits whose missions serve children, seniors, personal and workforce development, empowerment, arts, social justice, beautification/environment, music, and culture. The Arabella Station and Veterans locations will also participate and donate their net sales.

As part of the company’s core values to support its local communities, the stores donate five percent of net sales once a quarter. With the new Broad St. store opening, the New Orleans locations have combined efforts to support five local organizations over the first five days that the Broad St. store is open to foster even more giving. The schedule is as follows:

Tuesday, Feb. 4
Providence Community Housing
Providence Community  Housing fosters healthy, diverse and vibrant communities by developing, operating and advocating for affordable, mixed-income housing, supportive services and employment opportunities for individuals, families, seniors and people with special needs. www.providencecommunityhousing.org.                         

Wednesday, Feb. 5
Edgar “Dooky” Jr. & Leah Chase Family Foundation
The Dooky and Leah Chase Family Foundation seeks to cultivate and support historically disenfranchised organizations by making significant contributions to education, creative and culinary arts, and social justice. www.dookychasefoundation.org

Thursday, Feb. 6
Youth Run NOLA
Youth Run NOLA empowers underserved youth through running, with an eight-month guided training program overseen by volunteer teacher-coaches and running buddies. They recognize the long-term significance of empowerment, physical activity and mental resiliency in youth and aim to teach the community that runners are made, not born, and that running is a lifestyle, not just a sport. www.yrnola.org

Friday, Feb. 7
Restore the Bayou Canopy
MotherShip Foundation’s Restore the Bayou Canopy campaign is a project that is replacing southern live oak trees along Bayou St. John lost during hurricanes Katrina and Isaac. These trees have provided shade and improved the quality of life for neighborhood residents for centuries.

www.mothershipfoundation.wordpress.com                                                                                                                         Saturday, Feb. 8
The Roots of Music
Co-founded by Derrick Tabb of the Rebirth Brass Band, The Roots of Music provides free, year-round music education to kids ages 9-14, with a mission to teach, support and empower the youth of New Orleans while preserving and promoting the city’s unique musical and cultural heritage. www.therootsofmusic.org“Leading up to the store opening, we’ve had the pleasure to meet people and organizations in the neighborhood and surrounding area and support many events,” shared Kristina Bradford, Louisiana community and media relations coordinator for Whole Foods Market. “These one percent days are a great way to celebrate the store opening and organizations that enrich our community. We’re thrilled that the Arabella and Veterans locations will join us in these efforts, and we invite the community to shop at our stores on these days to further the non-profits’ missions.”Information on Broad St. store events, activities, and classes, including the healthy eating educators, can be found at

www.wholefoodsmarket.com/stores/broadstreet                                                                                                         http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/stores/broadstreet– ### -About Whole Foods Market(r)
Founded in 1980 in Austin, Texas, Whole Foods Market (wholefoodsmarket.com     http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com, NASDAQ: WFM), is the leading natural and organic food retailer. As America’s first national certified organic grocer, Whole Foods Market was named “America’s Healthiest Grocery Store” by Health magazine. The company’s motto, “Whole Foods, Whole People, Whole Planet”(tm) captures its mission to ensure customer satisfaction and health, Team Member excellence and happiness, enhanced shareholder value, community support and environmental improvement. Thanks to the company’s more than 78,000 Team Members, Whole Foods Market has been ranked as one of the “100 Best Companies to Work For” in America by FORTUNE magazine for 15 consecutive years. In fiscal year 2013, the company had sales of $12.9 billion and currently has more than 360 stores in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom.

For store updates, community and event news, and new product information, follow us on Twitter @wfm_louisiana,
Facebook www.facebook.com/wholefoodsnola and www.facebook.com/wholefoodsbr,
and Instagram @wholefoods_louisiana.

The ReFresh Project is an adaptive reuse of the former Schwegmann’s supermarket building at Broad and Bienville.

The project that will include a new Whole Foods Market, Liberty’s Kitchen full service café and commercial kitchen, and The Goldring Center for Culinary Medicine at Tulane University. The fresh food access development has the dual purpose of anchoring economic development in the Broad Street commercial corridor and delivering much-needed, high-quality fresh foods and health-related programs to underserved communities along Broad Street. The development will also include office and community space, including the central office for FirstLine Schools and the offices of Broad Community Connections.

Filed Under: Featured Tagged With: bienville, broad, broad community connections, refresh, whole foods

New Neighbor Restores Sign

April 23, 2012 by Charlie London

by Dean Burridge

Lynell French Marianetti, a new resident of Faubourg St. John, spent last weekend restoring the historic sign on the bayou at Bell St. Lynell recently retired from Atlanta and fell in love with the area and decided to relocate in our neighborhood. Her volunteerism and artistic ability is much appreciated. Please see her (attached) handy-work.

The sign says: THE OLD PORTAGE
Short trail from Lake Ponchartrain to River shown by Indians to Iberville and Bienville, 1699. Winding trail used by early travelers to city. From Bayou St. John it led to North Broad, Bayou Road, Vieux Carre to Mississippi River at site between Dumaine and Governor Nicholls Streets.

Filed Under: Featured, HISTORY Tagged With: bayou, bayou st john, bienville, dean burridge, faubourg, faubourg st john, iberville, Lynell French Marianetti, New Orleans, old, portage, sign

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