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Old 02-13-2011, 08:07 PM
 
24 posts, read 223,086 times
Reputation: 55

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While everywhere else in the country seems to be infected with suburban sprawl and chain stores (Walmart, Target, Burger King, Applebees, etc.), am I wrong, when I say N.O. seems to be a haven for small, locally owned businesses?
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Old 02-14-2011, 08:56 AM
 
Location: New Orleans
1,546 posts, read 3,002,787 times
Reputation: 1957
YES!!! Drive from one end of Magazine Street to the other, and all you see is small business.. 50 blocks of it! Especially in the Uptown New Orleans area, small businesses seem to be sprouting up everywhere, and the demographic of middle/upper middle/upper class people who live in the area patronize these establishments quite well.
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Old 02-14-2011, 03:41 PM
 
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I read in a magazine, I can't remember if it was Entrepreneur or INC., but there was an article on a guy who started a business in N.O.. His business was working with small businesses as a Q&A guy basically. And his business was booming.

I also saw a piece about young people starting their own business. Mostly little clothes boutiques and cupcake bakeries. But of the 12 or so in the article 3 or 4 were setting up shop in N.O.
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Old 02-16-2011, 08:24 AM
 
194 posts, read 543,339 times
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There are a chains tucked in here and there, but the number of independent business here is like no other place I've lived or visited. It's one of the things I LOVE about living here ;-)
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Old 02-16-2011, 08:32 PM
 
24 posts, read 223,086 times
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awesome.... thanks for all the replies! My husband is from Florida and we are contemplating a move back there, but one of the things I don't like about Florida is how it's basically one big urban sprawl filled with cookie cutter neighborhoods and strip malls. I'm from California (Berkeley and Santa Monica) originally, so I definitely do like supporting small businesses.
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Old 02-19-2011, 10:35 PM
 
Location: Lafayette, La
2,057 posts, read 5,300,873 times
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I think more than just about any city, New Orleans has a thriving small business culture. You hardly see anything from a franchise anywhere for miles out from the FRench Quarter. Most of it is located in and around MEtairie instead. This is part of what makes New Orleans so interesting.
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Old 02-20-2011, 08:15 AM
 
144 posts, read 329,965 times
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Very similar to Austin Texas, as a matter of fact. But yes.
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Old 02-20-2011, 09:42 AM
 
Location: New Orleans
1,546 posts, read 3,002,787 times
Reputation: 1957
And when chains do make an appearance in city limits, the community takes note and makes some of these companies make compromises. For example, the McDonald's on St. Charles in the Garden District is a two story building with some degree of charm, definitely not constructed like the cookie cutter image of a McDonald's franchise. Right across the street, the Borders bookstore was actually put inside of a beautiful old building..go check it out, it's definitely not what you would expect from a a chain. When Wal-Mart opened Uptown, there was a great deal of uproar from certain circles, and that ensured that the structure was built with some degree of charm (red brick instead of cinder block) and that the surrounding community would have to look a certain way and not come to resemble another Americana strip mall. So yes, not only does the small business culture work for small business, it keeps the chains in line here as well. Keep up the good work.
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Old 02-20-2011, 11:44 AM
 
Location: New Orleans, LA
310 posts, read 851,615 times
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It's so sad that Borders did all that work on that building and it's one of the ones slated to close. Hopefully, it doesn't stay vacant for long.
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Old 02-21-2011, 09:39 PM
 
194 posts, read 543,339 times
Reputation: 181
I LOVE that big companies like WM and McD's aren't allowed to run rampant in the city!

The Borders building is gorgeous. I heard it used to be a funeral home - is that correct?
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