Who needs Blockbuster anyway?

This is a surprisingly optimistic article about the recovery plans of businesses situated near the corner of Gentilly and Elysian Fields. All we know for certain is that the Blockbuster video (which may soon go the way of Tower Records) the McDonald's (one of the few with no drive-thru) and the Walgreens (good riddance!) aren't planning to come back.

I grew up just a few blocks away from this little square and for a long time it seemed like the center of the universe. On many a day, my good-for-nothing pre-pubescent miscreant activities included browsing the magazines at the K&B (now Rite Aid) or the shelves at the library across the street. I remember the chocolate and cheese filled king cakes from the McKenzie's.. the smell of fried chicken from the adjoining "Chicken in a Box"... the sounds pumped into the street from Peaches record shop. It would be nice to get some of that stuff back soon.

A few months back, Dad called to tell me he had just driven by the site of Zuppardo's grocery (the original Zuppardo's) to find that it "ain't dere no more". It was one of the sadder moments of our post-K experience. The quote from Roy Zuppardo in this article seems more hopeful than I would have thought.

Roy Zuppardo, whose family owned the Zuppardo’s Family Supermarket on Gentilly at Elysian Fields, said he has not yet decided if the store will be rebuilt. Had the store not suffered physical damage it would have reopened in Sept. 2005, Zuppardo said.

The 75-year-old structure had to be demolished because the roof fell in. The store was also “outdated” and in need of a facelift before the storm, Zuppardo said. The family owns another store in Metairie.

Zuppardo’s was the only grocery in the immediate area.

“Our family owns the property, so there’s always a possibility,” Zuppardo said. “But we haven’t made a decision to come back or not.”

I hope they come back. I hope the whole thing comes back.