Gentrification

Parasol's November 27, 2009


Killing New Orleans.

The Carreras' started negotiations last March with current owner Billy Hock to buy the building on the corner of Third and Constance Streets.

“The owner put it on the market for almost double what I was willing to offer,” Jeffrey Carreras says. “I wasn’t going to pay that much for the building. I’ve been here for 12 years. I know the condition the building is in."

On July 28, the Carreras learned that a couple from Clearwater, Florida purchased the building and the business. The new owners could not be reached for comment.

Adding to the Carreras' heartbreak: the name Parasol’s stays with the building, according to the original lease agreement.

“That was the crusher for me and my wife,” Carreras says. “It knocked the wind out of us.”

Carreras says they will be out of the building by August 31. They are gathering up the memorabilia, the menu and the employees and moving one block north to the space currently occupied by the Irish Garden bar and restaurant at 2604 Magazine Street. They’ll reopen with a new name — Tracey’s — but the same, familiar faces.

When asked if he knows what the new owners' plans are, the shock and anger in Carreras' voice is palpable. F-bombs fly. The negotiation to buy Carreras' liquor license and other operational functions of the business did not go well, he says.

I can't wait to see the new Parasol's, though. I'm guessing new wood floors, booth seating with "gourmet" chicken salad wraps and maybe some hot wings or something on the menu. Or maybe they'll just open another Pinkberry. People seem to like that.