Hello friends,
Bob here again. Don’t be afraid to follow me @BobtheBus52. I have been chilling at the same spot, near the corner Napoleon & Freret Street this week. The entrepreneurial atmosphere kicked so much ass that I have been posted up here for a second week. We have been working hard with two local entrepreneurs starting Our Social Tribune & Story Block Media.
First, the 52businesses team and I can’t thank the local entrepreneurs of Freret and their respective businesses enough for their generosity these past few days hosting us. We want to thank everyone for their hospitality and we apologize if we are forgetting any important names.
WEEK 3 wouldn’t have been a success without Gasa Gasa’s kickass venue which hosted last week’s What You Give Will Grow (check out this great video), and big thanks go out to Publiq House for keeping the team healthy with $2 beers and pounds on pounds of crawfish. Thankfully, Colin was kind enough to take me off my regular rotation of the various NOLA diesel stations these past two weeks, and I got to try many of the fine culinary establishments that have made Freret Street one of the hippest places in the city. HighHat, Wayfare, The Rook Cafe, and Mint kept our team well fed and Liberty Cheesesteaks was always ready to serve up one of their wiz cheesesteaks whenever we came knocking. Max won’t stop raving about Freret Street Po-boy, where he had breakfast or lunch almost everyday.
While WEEK 3 was a crazy public facing experience, WEEK 4 was a lot less glamorous & more about hands on work. The team was working hard, and when I wasn’t the center of their attention, I let myself think. Being on Freret Street has given me an inside view of the entrepreneurial life that makes New Orleans so unique. Only five years ago, Freret street was not the burgeoning center of lively restaurants and music venues for which it is now known. The street had been given up on–the area had a high crime rate and only a few establishments dotted the street. Then something remarkable happened. Crazy people with crazy ideas took the leap and started businesses up and down the street. Dat Dog popped up with unique sausages including all the toppings you could ever want and is heralded as serving up some of the best dogs in the country. Cure flips out the most delicious cocktails you can ask for and is constantly visited by a prestigious young professional crowd. Midway serves deep dish pizza with a New Orleans twist that is to die for.
What makes these people (and the New Orleans entrepreneurship community as a whole) so unique is that they had an idea that they believed in and were willing to act on them. They took on the risk of starting a new business and worked to add value to New Orleanians’ lives through their venture. They were courageous, crazy, and foolhardy all at the same time. Because of these entrepreneurs, Freret Street has become the lively place full of good food, drink, and music that it now is. And with that, I sincerely thank you all–here’s to The New Freret.
With respect & love,
Bob (@bobthebus52)