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Steve Smith (left) and Jerry Blake, owners of the new Road Show Coach & RV Center of New Orleans, demonstrate the roominess of a Ralph Lauren-designed Monaco motorcoach.
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When former LSU football player Jerry Blake and
transplanted Mississippi car dealer Steve Smith take a show on the road, they
do it in high style and luxury, providing all the comforts of home -- but on wheels.
Smith and Blake opened Road Show Coach & RV Center of New
Orleans (10940 I-10 Service Road, 520-9928) in eastern New Orleans a couple
of weeks ago and already their service department is booked a month in advance
and the showroom has been visited by rock star Jon Bon Jovi. Road Show currently
is the only full-line dealer for Monaco motorcoaches in the state and one of
only six service centers for the upper-end Prevost lines in the country.
"Our customers will come from all over the
country," Smith says. "It's expected that there will be a 10-to-20 percent increase
(in motorcoach ownership) over the next 10 years, and this is one of the most
traveled cities in North America. Right now, our service department is booked
a month in advance."
Before Road Show opened, RV and motorcoach
owners in this region of the country had to go to Dallas or Knoxville, Tenn.,
for service and parts. "Parts and service will be 70 percent of our sales,"
Smith predicts. "People like traveling to New Orleans, so they'll come here
to stay a few days, have their coach serviced and move on."
The vehicles the Road Show sells are designed
for comfort and good looks; internationally noted designer Ralph Lauren designed
both the exterior and interior of the Monaco, which starts at about $100,000,
down to stone floors, fabrics and carpets. These 30- to 45-foot-long motorcoaches
also feature a special floor that slides to expand the living room space to
each side when the vehicle is parked. The coaches also include a roomy kitchen
area, heated lumbar seats, a 43-inch plasma screen TV, full-size bedrooms, cedar-lined
walk-in closets, and washers and dryers and a shower that can be used even when
the home is in motion. Most can sleep about six people comfortably.
On the higher end are the Prevost motorcoaches
and custom-designed homes by Bruce Coachworks of British Colombia, customizer
to the stars. "As far as conversions go, they're the most exclusive," Blake
says. "They do coaches for top entertainers like Cher, Brad Pitt, Tom Cruise.
The Monaco is the Mercedes of motor homes; the Prevost is the Rolls Royce."
Many of the entertainers who use the motor
coaches to travel trade them in often, a fact Smith and Blake plan to capitalize
on by offering them to those looking for a previously owned luxury coach. They
already have arranged to receive an elaborately customized coach owned by Cher
and have attracted interest from other performers who regularly use motorcoaches
when they're on the road.
After less than a month in business, the partners
already are making expansion plans. The business will bring in a wider range
of RVs and coaches by a variety of manufacturers, Blake says, and it will expand
customer services to include electric hook-ups so owners can stay in their coaches
while they're being serviced, limousine service to area attractions and shopping
destinations and other amenities.
"We want to be a first-class service center
for customers and out-of-town guests," Blake says. "We feel like we're starting
a great business for ourselves and we're also giving something back to the city.
We're bringing in people who will get their coaches serviced and spend a few
days seeing the city."
Most of all, Smith and Blake are confident
their business will succeed because of the popularity of RVing, tailgating and
people traveling with their families.
"It's a great way to travel," Smith says.
"There are families that have sold their home and live in it (a coach) and go
from place to place. It has everything that a regular home has. They're a blast.
They are really the way to go."
Lighting Inc. (4201 Tulane Ave., 486-5761;
3547 Hwy. 190, Pontchartrain Square, Mandeville, (985) 727-9368) has brought
the glitz of Hollywood and the intrigue of James Bond to its showroom with its
new offerings of Schonbek crystal chandeliers, which were featured in the ice
castle in the new 007 movie Die Another Day.
The "Jubilee" chandeliers by Schonbek, which
are shaped like diamonds and comprise almost 4,000 crystal jewels, are on display
in only a few lighting showrooms across the country. The 40-year-old Lighting
Inc. specializes in providing a wide range of styles in lighting, expert advice
and a variety of prices.
