For most New Orleanians, daiquiris bring to mind sweet relief on hot summer days. But for Lower Garden District residents who had to live near the troubled Daiquiri Place Cafe during its chaotic run, they remind them of nothing but headaches. The rowdy St. Charles spot was sanctioned repeatedly by the city for failing to control the inebriated crowds that gathered around it, eventually losing its liquor license in 2012. Baton Rouge businessmen want to put another daiquiri shop in the neighborhood and their would-be neighbors aren’t having it.
The Uptown Messenger reports that the first public meeting on the new shop was colored by the strong opposition of residents and nearby businesses. The neighborhood news site said that Adam Lambert, who purchased the Daiquiri Place after it was forced to close and turned it into a veterinary office, was also on hand to say that he didn’t want daiquiris coming back.
“The New Orleans Police Department couldn’t control this,” Lambert said. “You won’t be able to control what you open.”
Residents pointed at that the small footprint of the new spot at 1610 St. Charles Ave. — it plans to only have seven seats and will largely serve as a to-go daiquiri shop, which they believe will lead to the same corner confusion that got the old daiquiri place booted.
The co-owners of the new daiquiri shop countered that their experience running a similar shop in Baton Rouge will allow them to succeed where the former failed.
“We run a daiquiri bar and grill. We run it in a neighborhood, and what we are proposing is a small neighborhood daiquiri shop that’s going to blend in,” said Ferdinand Jefferson, owner of Baton Rouge’s Tiger Paw Daiquiris and Grill.
The planned to-go bar still needs the approval of the City Planning Commission and the City Council. However, Jefferson expects that the shop will open toward the end of the year.