NEW ORLEANS - The shopping cart wheels are moving and the aisles are stocked with food once again at Robert Fresh Market.
Just as fast as the lights turned on Saturday, word quickly spread across the neighborhood.
"It didn't take long, within a couple of hours we were getting swamped pretty well," General Manager Marc Robert III said.
The store is back at its location after a 12-year hiatus. It's an opening Robert says his family's fought long and hard for.
"After Katrina we've been battling through litigation story and you know, we took ownership three years ago of the property and for the past three years we've been working with the historic district's landmarks commission and various ways to fund the project," Robert III said.
The location near St. Claude Avenue and Elysian Fields sits at a unique spot, right in front of the streetcar line and the RTA bus route.
Customers told Eyewitness News they are excited about the re-opening. They say it is something their community needed for a while now.
"I used to shop here when it was Schwegmann's years ago and this community really needs a grocery store," French Quarter resident Mark Chance said.
"A lot of elderly people don't have transportation to go back and forth so it's good to have a good store in the neighborhood," St. Claude resident Allison Jackson said.
Robert says his store is just one of several developments happening in the area. Other businesses, both service and retail-based, he says, will soon join the grocery store in nearby buildings that are currently under construction.
"I like to support local, small businesses so it fits the bill for that as well." Marigny resident Jan Skelley said.
"The whole neighborhood has just been so incredibly supportive, so happy. Every person that's walked through the door, I've seen huge smiles on their faces," Robert III said.
Robert says they plan on having their official grand opening of the store later in January.