Elpidio Ocampo
July 4, 2016Reporting police misdeeds no easy task
July 6, 2016
The local economic slowdown has reared its head in Houma, where opening and closing businesses have made for a changing face of nightlife.
Restaurants and bars, both downtown and in the Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard corridor, have closed their doors as the oil and gas downturn has dragged down the entire economy. At the same time, smaller businesses and retail stores are moving in, downturn be damned.
Two spots for downtown diversion, one old and one relatively new, have shut down in the wake of a wheezing market. Samurai Dragon, located on the corner of Main and Lafayette streets, has served its last roll of sushi after 13 years in business. A few blocks down on Roussell Street, the swanky Bar Roussell is not serving cocktails long into the night anymore.
Anne Picou, manager of Houma’s Main Street Program, said some closures were “inevitable,” but should be taken as a sign of the economy rather than the quality of the establishments.
“Everybody’s just feeling the pinch right now, and I think people are just trying to stay home more and take care of their own financial situation,” she said. “I can tell you as myself, my family, if we don’t have to spend money, we’re not going to.”
State Sen. Norby Chabert, who owned Bar Roussell, did not wish to comment on his business’s closure. Samurai Dragon owner Steve Lane said sales had been dropping at the restaurant for the past three or four years, with a sharp decline this year. With a largely salaried staff, he was not able to cut back on labor costs as sales decreased. He said the lack of street parking, which Houma has addressed recently with added parking lots, combined with a lack of foot traffic, proved too steep a hill to climb with the gravity of the downturn. Lane said he owns the property where Samurai Dragon was and has hopes to lease it out in the short term for another potential entrepreneur.
“Samurai Dragon was there for 13 years. I’m proud of what Samurai Dragon accomplished, and I certainly will miss having it open,” he said.
Downtown restaurants also have to overcome the challenge from the Martin Luther King Jr. corridor, according to Picou. She said the stretch of chain restaurants on MLK attracts families looking for a familiar, dependable meal. When children are in tow and may only want a hamburger or hot dog, that familiarity can win out, Picou said.
“It’s just the mindset. They go where they’re comfortable. They go where they’ve been before,” she said.
The economy’s wrath has not spared those MLK chains either, though. Twin Peaks, a chain establishment featuring female servers in skimpy clothing that branded itself as a “breastaurant,” closed down last month, as well. Twin Peaks lasted three-and-a-half years on the MLK corridor after opening up in late 2012.
Local economic officials agree the closures reveal the stress the local economy is under. Retail is a lagging indicator in an economy, and the stores shutting their doors reveal the stress the local market is under, according to Matt Rookard, Terrebonne Economic Development Authority chief executive officer.
“[Retail is] a critical part of the regional quality of life, and you need a good, strong core for the business community. So it is tough. But I think things will continue tightening for those businesses as long as we’re staying with this low-priced oil,” he said.
While businesses have been closing down across Houma this year, some optimistic entrepreneurs are setting up shop in defiance of the downturn. Smaller, local businesses have popped up in downtown area, while a larger, ambitious new spot on Corporate Drive hopes to redefine summer fun in the area.
The spot on Corporate, called the Sandbox, is a venue featuring an open bar, grill and three sand volleyball courts. Which opened June 18 with its inaugural volleyball tournament, and owner Teri Liner said she hopes to have tournaments and leagues throughout the year. The Avondale native and assistant volleyball coach at Vandebilt Catholic High School said Houma’s volleyball culture is growing, and she hopes to be on the front end of it.
In downtown Houma, smaller businesses are opening up or relocating in the wake of those closures. Some aim
to provide nourishment and entertainment all in one, while others strive to bring more shoppers strolling through the area. Downtown Jeaux’s on Church Street is a new coffee shop hoping to provide a homegrown feeling for downtown dwellers. Next door to his closed-down Samurai Dragon, Lane is working to bring a new flavor to the area. Apricot Lane, a boutique for women’s fashion, has moved from its location in the Southland Mall to a storefront on Belanger Street.
At Jeaux’s, owner Tommy Guarisco is trying to bring the sense of community back to the coffee business. The baristas grind the beans on-site, which might add a little time to the coffee-making process but also adds a little quality. Jeaux’s serves as a live art studio, with a featured artist’s work hanging and available for purchase each month, and Guarisco said the spot will also have a songwriters’ cafe where local music acts can play live music.
“We don’t just want to be a coffee shop, we want to be something a little more,” he said.
That drive to be a little more has already resulted in Jeaux’s expanding its menu and tweaking its business plan one month into operation. Skylar Cheramie, brought over from Starbuck’s to manage Guarisco’s shop, said working for a small business has allowed her to experiment with drinks according to customer recommendations. Jeaux’s has also expanded its menu to include hot breakfast sandwiches, but the need for them downtown quickly revealed itself, the owner said. The coffee shop could soon include a lunch menu in hopes of avoiding the midday lull. According to Guarisco, operating a new business in this down economy has both good and bad days, but the adventures of finding out what works have been rewarding.
“I wish it would be a little bit busier, but we’ve still got a few things to do. We’ve got a few things to finish, make some corrections on the things we started, what’s popular, what’s not going so well,” he said.
In Lafayette Street next to Samurai Dragon, Lane is in the final steps of completing Tequila Sunset, a Mexican restaurant. Since closing Samurai Dragon, Lane has accelerated the work on Tequila Sunset, which he started work on earlier this year. He said he also plans to have live entertainment, such as local bands and stand-up comics. Though he’s familiar with the challenges of opening up in the area, Lane said he hopes the restaurant’s new angle will attract customers during the slowdown.
“There’s never been a Mexican restaurant downtown. And Mexican restaurants do seem to be popular right now, so I can hope I can attract some attention from that perspective,” Lane said.
According to Picou, the key to these new businesses staying afloat will be local support. While purse strings across Houma have tightened up, she said, buying local keeps 100 percent of the money in the region’s economy, while most of a chain’s revenues head thousands of miles away to a corporate office. Guarisco echoed Picou’s, saying while tourists can help businesses, it will be local dollars which decide their fates.
“We’ve missed a lot of people who used to move in town and hit the restaurants and refreshment centers and all that. It’s mostly locals who have to come out and support. Because we all need that more than ever,” he said.
‘Everybody’s just feeling the pinch right now, and I think people are just trying to stay home more and take care of their financial situation. I can tell you as myself, my family, if we don’t have to spend money, we’re not going to.’
Anne Picou
Manager, Houma’s Main Street Program
Downtown Jeaux’s manager Skylar Cheramie serves Sgt. Blake Guidry of the Terrebonne Parish Sheriff’s Office a cup of coffee. Jeaux’s is one of the new businesses springing up downtown in face of this slow economy.
Tequila Sunset on Lafayette Street in downtown Houma, next to the now-closed Samurai Dragon restaurant, is set to open up later this summer. Steve Lane, who owns both restaurants, said he hopes to bring live entertainment to the first Mexican restaurant in downtown Houma.
