Thursday, March 19, 2009
J'Anita's Closes
Posted by Ian McNulty on Thu, Mar 19, 2009 at 3:45 PM
And the hits just keep on coming. Yesterday, J'Anita's restaurant on Magazine Street closed for good, taking a very welcoming, casual café, a good breakfast spot and an excellent red fish sandwich out of rotation.
In a November article about how local restaurateurs were coping with economic anxieties, J'Anita's co-owner Craig Giesecke (pictured with wife Kim) said business at his inexpensive restaurant was on the rise, perhaps as customers sought more affordable options for their dining dollars.
February was the restaurant's best month of business, he said today, but looking ahead he felt the prospects were gloomy, especially with the seasonal doldrums of a New Orleans summer on the horizon.
"The only big event in town between now and summer is Jazz Fest, and it just became clear I couldn't garner enough cash to slide through the summer," Giesecke says. "We decided to close now while we have money to pay people and assets to sell."
J'Anita's opened late in 2007 and grew out of a bootstrap post-Katrina business plan. Giesecke previously ran a specialty smoked cheese business in Mid-City, which was ruined by the levee failures. But he still had an intact mobile barbecue smoker, and he and his family members positioned it along the Canal Boulevard neutral ground to sell lunch to work crews in Lakeview, which had scant options for hot food at the time. Their experience led to J'Anita's.
Giesecke says he'll try to pick up some catering gigs using that same barbecue trailer while he's looking for a new job.
Comments (14)
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Very sorry to hear this. They were good people serving good food. Get out and support our "local" small spots before more IHOP and Subways move in.
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Crap. The meals I had at J'anita's were delicious and a fine value. And I agree with Libationist about supporting local businesses.
I am so, so sad to hear this. J'anita's served up some great food at this past year's Rising Tide Blogger Conference. Craig's place will be sorely missed.
This just sucks. I agree about supporting local businesses. I'm not a local but I only patronize local places when I visit.
He should open a roaming food cart and go to festivals and stuff and maybe just go around different spot until he gets enough to get a storefront again. They are cheap to open and can be quite profitable. The meals I had there were always terrific and I'd hate to see them disappear completely.
I heard about this yesterday when my wife stopped by. I'm seriously bummed, it was one of my favorite places in the city. Great food and vibe.
So sad to see them go. That was our regular "well, I don't know, let's just go to ____" spot.
BBQ take out in the right location might be a winner. I have always thought that old style service station on Rampart @ Esplanade would be perfect spot for take out. Put some picnic tables under the roof. There is even a space for a snow-ball stand. Might even sell hot tamales. Sure it needs work, but biz expenses would be low.
Just got this news from a friend and it is just too sad; the restaurant business has suffered more than most in this economic crisis, I believe. My husband and I are frequent Nola visitors from Arizona, and were lucky enough to mosey in to J'Anita's when in town last month. What nice people and such a relaxed atmosphere; and the nachos could compete with any we get here . . . I took photos of them complete with the signature ANIMAL CRACKER GARNISH! *sigh* Best of luck to Craig, Kim and the staff.
Sorry, Craig and TBK, and thanks for making me the best damned fish sammich I've ever tasted!
this is such a shame. :( thank you for all your hard work craig and kim. new orleans will miss you dearly. xo libby.
Thanks for all the nice words, but hey -- we ain't going anywhere. Our curly heads (along with the fish, the guac and other stuff) will reappear soon in a different location. We'll let you know.
