Maypop Reopens After Building Collapse Disrupts Business in CBD

NEW ORLEANS — Nearly two weeks ago, customers enjoying dinner at a downtown favorite were rushed out and that was the last meal eaten at Maypop since. The building across the street from the restaurant, at the corner of O’Keefe and Lafayette, partially collapsed on Dec. 14.

 Firefighters rushed to the scene to close off the street and secure the building. 

The restaurant’s part owner and chef, Michael Gulotta, wasn’t there at the time, but remembers getting the shocking phone call. 

“My general manager called me – she was shocked and a little disoriented,” explained Gulotta.  She’s like,’ Oh my God, they’re evacuating the entire restaurant. We’re not even, like, we’re not even allowed to put anything away, like, we just have to get out right now, this building is currently collapsing, and so literally, the guests could see it through the front window. 

“The bricks were coming down, and so they ushered everyone out,” he continued. “My cooks had just enough time to turn all their equipment off. So, like, we had food out everywhere. So, we lost all that food.”

The restaurant hasn’t served a meal since and usually this is one of their busiest times. Gulotta says any obstacle in a delicate business like the restaurant industry, can be difficult. The holiday season makes it even harder. 

“Restaurants are a crazy kind of economy where, you know, you’re constantly paying the previous month’s bills with today’s revenue. So when today’s revenue dries up, last month’s bills are still due. And so for us, we just need to have revenue coming in,” Gulotta said. “The scariest part is our staff, like, you can’t find another job that quickly during the holidays, so suddenly they’re just out of work, you know. 

“And you know, my business partner and I, we made sure we covered the payroll of the one of the time they’d already worked, but for the time after that, it just makes everything very, very difficult .”

Other nearby restaurants like Willa Jean were thankfully able to stay open since they’re on the further side of the street compared to the unsteady building, but it’s still affecting their revenue. 

“It affects especially our front of house staff, they are tipped based. So if we’re not getting the guest in, you know, that is affecting the amount of money that they’re making to bring home for those holidays,” General Manager of Willa Jean, Lauren said. 

Maypop finally got the okay to reopen. According to the city’s most recent update, they’ve made substantial progress this week to stabilize the building. But still, Gulotta isn’t too confident. 

“I don’t know how nervous people are, because the building still has, like, all these supports on it, bracing it so it doesn’t fall,” Gulotta said. “So, I don’t know if that’s influencing people. Plus, there’s all this scaffolding in front of our restaurant, you know, and there’s no chance for foot traffic, right? So that’s pretty stressful. I don’t know.”

But he’s ready to get customers back in the dining room, especially because it’s not the first interruption to business. 

The pandemic impacted their customer base, plus they were closed for two months because of Hurricane Ida. 

Now, he’s hoping this will be the final barrier. 

“If you had a great meal here, and you, you love us, come back and support us,” he said. 

Nearby uncovered parking lots owned by SP+ are providing 50 percent off of both nearby parking lots – BartPark Lot at 522 S. Rampart St and Family Lot at 1000 Poydras St. – through December 30. 

You can insert promo code RESTAURANT50. The promo code is only valid for online reservations and customers can claim the discount by visiting parking.com, searching the parking lot by name, entering their vehicle information and duration of stay, and applying the promo code before checking out. 

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