NEW ORLEANS — As a massive boil advisory drips toward its third day, bars and cafes are buying ice, scouring stores for cans of soda, and limiting menu items. It is a setback for many, especially during a time of year that is already slow in New Orleans.
Thursday, the City announced it would lift the advisory for Algiers. The entire East Bank, however, would remain under it.
“I know everybody’s getting ready for the Super Bowl and all these things,” said Joseph Licciardi, owner of Lafitte’s Blacksmith Bar, “Everything’s hitting us at one time.”
He has had to order mass quantities of ice from St. Bernard Parish since the advisory began.
Without it, he said the bar would have to close. It is an extra expense and inconvenience, and as Licciardi explained, “Summer is already slow for us, and this kind of stuff don’t help us out at all.”
Lafitte’s also had to buy bottles and jugs of water and cans of mixers as it, like most bars and restaurants, normally relies on fountain drinks connected to the city’s water supply.
With so many other businesses shopping for the same thing, Lafitte’s bartender Brianne Boos said supply was low at local shops. “There was nothing, so it took me a little minute to literally get everything,” she said.
Meanwhile, coffee shops are facing many of the same struggles.
“The main ingredient of coffee is water,” said Nykeisha Marshall, a manager at Nostalgia Cafe in the CBD. “Hot brewed coffee isn’t really an option for us right now because that runs through the pipes,” she said.
The cafe has seen a big slowdown in the past few days, which Marshall believes is because of worry over the water.
“More people are more hesitant to come in whenever there are boil water advisories going on in the area,” she said.
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