NEW ORLEANS — Lake Esplanade…that’s what Li’l Dizzy’s owner Arkesha Baquet calls the street in front of the popular Treme café every time it rains.
“I am frustrated at this point, beyond frustrated to be completely honest with you,” Baquet said.
Baquet shot a cellphone video of street flooding outside the restaurant on Monday and shared it on L’il Dizzy’s social media pages.
She says it’s been happening for years, and neither the city nor the New Orleans Sewerage and Water Board has been able to fix what has become a chronic drainage problem just steps from the business’s front door.
“It just keeps people in a position to where they’re not able to get over here to the restaurant,” Baquet said. “Then on the other side of the street there is no water. It all rolls right in front of this door.”
Red beans and rice Monday usually attracts a large crowd to Li’l Dizzy’s, but not this past Monday when “Summer is already slow,” Baquet said. “To have this situation affects my business, especially a big day like Monday. Monday in New Orleans for me is big because we sell a lot of red beans and rice.”
Baquet said there appears to be a problem with two catch basins not draining in front of the restaurant.
The Sewerage and Water Board is now in the process of taking over that part of the drainage system from the city’s Department of Public Works.