Historic New Orleans grocery Circle Food Store in peril, future is 'day to day'

Mismanagement
Grants
Bank Loans
Embezzlement
2017 flood
Can't compete with Walmart

Barely any revenue coming in, no fresh produce or meats.

Seems to me this was ill advised from the beginning.


"It took more than eight years and millions in taxpayer subsidies for the historic Circle Food Store in Treme to reopen after Hurricane Katrina.

Now, just four years after the grocery store and neighborhood landmark returned to business, its owners are on the brink of shutting it down, mired in debt and fighting their own family in court over money they claim was embezzled from the business.

“We’re still here but we’re in bad shape,” said owner Dwayne Boudreaux Jr. as he stood amid the half-stocked shelves of the 80-year old store, which re-opened in 2014 following an $8 million renovation funded largely through bank loans, city-provided grants and more than $4.4 million in tax credits.

On Wednesday morning, the store was staffed only by Boudreaux and his wife, Catrina. A trickle of customers walked through the aisles. Its hours of operation have been erratic and its fresh food areas are now mostly barren.

“I’ve been trying my best to keep it open, but it looks like that might be impossible,” Boudreaux said. “We are just looking at it day to day.”







2ta