Good "up & coming" area for new business?

[chalcedony]

I agree with JimLFT--I don't think outdoor dining is that bad most of the time. As long as there's shade, it's usually bearable even in the summer. I can't imagine the revenue a place like Bulldog (on Magazine) would lose if it didn't have outdoor seating. They're clearly willing to fork out the money for an industrial strength fan to keep people cool in the summer, and at night the place is packed.

Does anyone know about the Green Goddess in the French Quarter though? Never been there, but it touts itself as all-natural and mostly vegetarian and has very little (virtually no) indoor seating. It's a fairly new place; the OP may want to look it up.

As for other neighborhoods, I wouldn't think a street corner in the Marigny would be a good bet for a natural foods cafe. Faubourg Marigny is the most liberal part of the city, the population there is already fairly earthy-crunchy, and the rents are probably cheaper than most of Uptown.

The Freret Street corridor is definitely "up-and-coming" (still a long way to go) but it might also be a good option for higher-risk ventures (I say "high risk" because NOLA is not a big health-food city). Rent on Freret Street would be dirt cheap, though crime might be a bit of a problem, and the outdoor seating environment wouldn't be quite as pleasant.