Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
•
Walk one block to 1409 O. C. Haley, where you'll be in front of the Harrell
Building, a $20 million redevelopment project named for the late Rev. Louis
B. Harrell, a longtime resident of Central City and founder of the storefront
Living Witness Church of God in Christ in 1981. Harrell was best known for
his efforts to improve the quality of life in Central City, starting a clothing-
distribution center, a community meal program, a prison ministry, a drug-re-
habilitation program, and educational programs aimed at youth. The build-
ing houses senior-citizen apartments, office space, and a violence-reduction
program called CeaseFire New Orleans. It is also home to the New Orleans
Redevelopment Authority, which works with public and private partners to
redevelop and revitalize New Orleans neighborhoods like Central City.
•
Cross Terpsichore Street. At the corner is Haley's Harvest, one of dozens of
community gardens, urban farms, and orchards in underserved New Or-
leans neighborhoods. In the middle of the block, at 1609 O. C. Haley, is the
SoFAB (Southern Food and Beverage) Culinary Library and Archive, which
boasts an impressive collection of more than 11,000 volumes of cookbooks;
over 5,000 menus; and countless recipes, documents, and other literature
about the culinary traditions of the American South. The library is run by
the Southern Food and Beverage Museum.
•
At the end of the block is the neighborhood's crown jewel: Café Reconcile, a
nonprofit restaurant that provides job and life-skills training to at-risk youth
(see sidebar).
•
A block farther, at 1719 O. C. Haley, is Casa Borrega, which brought authen-
tic Mexican street food and lively Latino entertainment to the neighborhood
when it opened in 2012. The restaurant is housed in an 1891 Greek Revival
home that had fallen in disrepair when spouses Hugo Montero and Linda
Stone purchased it in 2008. In renovating the building, they used as many ex-
isting features as possible while adding materials salvaged from buildings in
New Orleans, Texas, and Mexico. The menu boasts such dishes as enchiladas
de mole, fish tacos, and huevos rancheros, along with more than 100 tequilas
and mezcals.
•
Walk four blocks to Josephine Street past the headquarters of the Central
City Renaissance Alliance, a resident-led community-development organiza-
tion that envisions a “Central City where the quality of life for everyone is
defined by high-quality schools, full employment, an abundance of business
and entrepreneurial opportunities, and a healthy and safe environment.” At
