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The space formerly home to Shoney’s and more recently Legacy Kitchen will be replaced by Smile Doctors. Smile Doctors is an orthodontics clinic with locations in over 15 states including several existing Louisiana clinics.

The building which was once home to Cafe East has apparently been gutted for a proposed redevelopment. The Chinese restaurant opened in 2004 to much fan faire but in its later years became a shell of itself. The 2004 renovation could have easily had customers mistaking the building for an Al Copeland venture with a huge glitzy sign and color changing lighting inside and outside of the building. While unique to Metairie at the time the trendy accents became dated.

According to the real estate listing “The interior of the building has been gutted in preparation for future occupant’s build out.” The building is being marketed as a future restaurant or medical use.

This Around Metairie post is sponsored by Ducky’s Pools, Hot Tubs & Living located at 2636 Edenborn Ave in Metairie (just behind Lowes). This must-see store offers above ground pools, hot tubs, grills, gifts and home accessories. Ducky’s is locally owned and operated. For more info visit www.duckysonline.com.

Although COVID-19 temporarily sidelined the progress at Total Wine & More an opening date has been set for 6/26. The new store taking over the Circuit City turned Best Buy at 3780 Veterans Blvd. in Metairie over 8,000 wines, 3,000 spirits and 2,500 beers. Based on the reaction our initial post saw Total Wine will be packed for weeks to come. Stay tuned to Around Metairie for more details.

Long troubled department store retailer JCPenney filed for bankruptcy last month. The company is shuttering over 150 stores this summer and Around Metairie has learned that the Lakeside Shopping Center location is among those being closed. Reports say that the store will start with closing sales on June 12th. We will continue to update the story as more details become available.

Ducky’s Pools, Hot Tubs & Living was slated to open on April 1st and while the official grand opening celebration has been temporarily pushed back due to COVID-19 the store is open for business. Ducky’s is a locally owned retailer offering pool supplies, above ground pools, spas & hot tubs. A large portion of the store also features home decor and gifts. A full selection of grills and accessories including Big Green Egg is expected to arrive in the next week as well.

The management team decided now is a good time to open as pool owners across the New Orleans metro area are opening their pools for the season and need a source for chemicals and supplies. “If pools go untreated we’ll have more problems to deal with in the area. Untreated pools can become a public health issue especially when considering mosquitos. We offer free in-store and curbside service for pool water testing currently so customers can get the pools in shape for the upcoming season.” said Josh Ulfers, owner of Ducky’s.

Ducky’s Pools, Hot Tubs & Living
(Behind Veterans Blvd. Lowes Home Improvement)
2636 Edenborn Ave.
Metairie, LA 70002
(504) 882-5392
www.duckysonline.com

While the dining options lining Veterans Blvd. are closed or offering limited service during the COVID-19 crisis at least one restaurant has announced that it will not be re-opening. Bravo Cucina Italiana at Lakeside Shopping Center has posted notices stating “As of today we will closing down permanently.”

Candidly this Bravo location has been our internal endangered list for some time now as it seems that the atmosphere and food slipped over the years. The national chain was purchased by a private equity firm in 2018 and is now owned by FoodFirst Global Restaurants. Since the COVID-19 situation the chain announced that at least one other location in Pennsylvania has closed for good. Prior to the current situation the chain had closed additional locations over the past several months.

Thank you to Around Metairie reader Billy for the tip.

Ben (a.k.a. Cyborg Saint) from Ben’s Burgers (2008 Clearview Pkwy. in Metairie) has released a music video inspired by the COVID-19 quarantine. He wants to remind everyone that his locally owned business and many others are still open and in need of our community support. Enjoy the video below:

Lakeside Shopping Center has announced that the area’s largest shopping center will close temporarily in response to COVID-19. In recent days the shopping center has appeared to have a small fraction of the shoppers and employees that it usually has.