The New Orleans Corner Store

Corner stores have been anchors in New Orleans neighborhoods for well over a century. The ultimate in convenience, embedded deep in residential neighborhoods where people could simply walk to the nearest corner store to pick up bread, milk, and other necessities. They may also house laudrymats, pharmacies, or neighborhood bars. In addition to providing a service, corner stores also served as a gathering place for the neighborhood where residents could socialize. Truly, they were a place where everyone “knew your name.”

Corner stores come in many different styles and can be one-story or multiple storied buildings, but their distinguishing feature is the beveled corner doorway that faces an intersection visible and accessible to traffic on multiple streets. Historically, a corner store also housed the owner’s residence either upstairs or deeper in the back of the property with a separate entrance. Some corner stores– such as the one at 3801 Baronne Street– have been converted to private residences, while others have been converted to churches or retail stores.

While there are some thriving corner stores still in operation, the rise of big-box chain supermarkets has unfortunately hastened the demise of many of these traditional commercial stores. Even when a chain store attempts to blend in with a neighborhood by adding in traditional commercial design, it still seems to lack authenticity. The authenticity they seek is inherent in the corner store, and their organically-created 19th century design cannot be easily replicated by a stand-alone store.

With the proper investment, corner stores could once again serve New Orleans neighborhoods. Louisiana’s Cultural Product District program was created to revitalize communities by creating a hub of cultural activity. A community can apply for this designation, and the benefits for individual property owners within these districts include increases in the cap for historic preservation tax credits for owner-occupied properties, as well as tax-free sales of original artwork. Corner stores located in New Orleans Cultural Product Districts are a perfect fit for this program. Currently, there are 18 designated CPD’s in New Orleans.

New Orleans is a bike-friendly and pedestrian-friendly city. Who wouldn’t rather walk a block or two to the nearest corner store to pick up your groceries rather than getting in the car, fighting traffic, parking, and waiting in long lines at a big box grocery store? The market for corner store convenience exists, and it is vastly underserved.

New Orleans is losing many of its corner stores due to neglect and demolition. In fact, three of them appear on the NCDC agenda for February 1st. While it is true that many of the buildings are blighted and abandoned, is demolition really the answer when the need for them still clearly exists?

Click here to view our Flickr photo pool of corner store buildings.