NEW ORLEANS – A plan to build a Cuban restaurant at the site of a blighted gas station at the corner of North Rampart and Esplanade Streets was approved by the New Orleans City Council on Thursday.
The Advocate’s Jeff Adelson reports the council voted 4-2 to allow the project to go forward.
The Habana Outpost project has courted controversy for 3 years – French Quarter neighborhood groups have fought to stop developer Sean Meenan from building the restaurant claiming it would bring rowdy crowds to that mostly residential corner of the Quarter.
Those in support of the project saw it as a chance to revitalize a long neglected area in the famed district.
The agreement came with some compromise.
Adelson reports the plan for Cafe Habana no longer includes a second floor dining space and will only have a total of 183 seats.
