The Mid-City restaurant Taqueria Guerrero had barely any customers by late November. It was a sign of the pervasive fear across the area’s Hispanic communities from widely publicized federal immigration enforcement operations. Many of its Hispanic customers were staying home.
Then the taqueria announced that it would temporarily shutter, starting in December, until things felt safer. Swiftly people turned up in droves, intent on bolstering the business and its staff for the uncertainty ahead.
The owner later told me how moving that was, how he just didn’t know there was so much love out there for his little restaurant.
More of that same love could go a long way right now at many other businesses that remain open but are barely hanging on. Places that count on a large Hispanic clientele are seeing just a trickle of their normal business.
There are moves in the community to try to marshal more support, in the way that New Orleans reliably does, and starting by simply showing up for a meal.
The need is obvious. Dining rooms usually bustling at workday lunchtime might see just a customer or two. Groceries and markets have deserted aisles. Some restaurants are getting by on takeout and delivery, reminiscent of the early dark days of the pandemic.
Everyone who was around New Orleans in the months and years after Hurricane Katrina knows it was Hispanic construction workers who rebuilt the city. Many who arrived for recovery work later put down roots and through two decades this has added another dimension to New Orleans culture, which, as always, plays out in our food and restaurant scene.
There is now an incredible diversity of delicious food from around Latin America that is at home in our area, and there is the warmth of hospitality from people who pride themselves in representing their culture. All of that feels at risk right now as businesses wither.
New Orleans people do show up for their restaurants. We see it regularly through the seasonal travails of summer. We see it after restaurants suffer some calamity. And we saw it after the terror attack in the French Quarter.
From what I’ve seen lately, at many small restaurants right now even another table or two can make a difference.
