Would-be Faubourg Marigny wine seller Troy Gant appeared to have his heart set on the idea of opening a combination wine bar, shop and school in a vacant commercial space at 1938-40 Burgundy St., in the heart of the Marigny Triangle, even though the property's zoning did not allow it. Gant said the prospect of being able to sell...
Would-be Faubourg Marigny wine seller Troy Gant appeared to have his heart set on the idea of opening a combination wine bar, shop and school in a vacant commercial space at 1938-40 Burgundy St., in the heart of the Marigny Triangle, even though the property's zoning did not allow it.
Gant said the prospect of being able to sell Burgundy wines on Burgundy Street -- even though most New Orleanians pronounce the street Bur-GUN-dee and the wine BUR-gun-dee -- was "almost like winning the lottery."
But when his applications for a change to the zoning law and a conditional-use permit came up at the New Orleans City Council's most recent meeting, the council's clerk announced that both requests had been withdrawn. A spokesman for Gant, Kevin Stuart, said later that the businessman has found a new site at 1027 Touro St., only a block or two from the Burgundy Street site where Gant's original plan stirred up a hornet's nest of controversy among Marigny residents.
Stuart said the Touro Street site is properly zoned for such a shop, "so there are no zoning issues." He said he anticipates the shop, to be named Second Vine Wine, will open in early August. "The new space will help us, we hope, turn former opponents into customers," he said.
The controversy over Gant's original plan erupted at a City Planning Commission hearing in March. Although Gant produced letters or email messages of support from numerous residents, most of the people who turned out for the hearing or sent emails opposed his plans.
As a result, the commission voted 3-2 against Gant's proposal. However, because four members were absent, the matter went to the City Council without an official recommendation from the commission. Marigny is in Councilwoman Kristin Gisleson Palmer's district, and she apparently suggested Gant find another site that would not need a zoning change and would be acceptable to residents and the Faubourg Marigny Improvement Association, whose board had voted to oppose his original plans.
The problem for Gant was that the Burgundy Street site is zoned HMC-1, a low-intensity commercial zoning for parts of Marigny and Treme. Although most of the popular Frenchmen Street entertainment corridor is zoned HMC-1, the zoning also covers parts of other minor streets that are in mostly residential areas.Opponents of Gant's Burgundy Street proposal said he should have found a site with higher-intensity HMC-2 zoning. The Touro Street site is zoned HMC-2.
Asked whether Gant had been told the council would not approve his original plan, Stuart did not respond directly. Instead, he said, "We're staying in the neighborhood, but changed locations because the delays were mounting up and the (Burgundy Street) space had some limitations with respect to square footage and delivery options." The new space doesn't have the same limitations, he said.
"We are leasing the space, and the contract is being finalized now," Stuart added.
Now, if only there were some Touro wines for Gant to sell there.