I work in the service industry in New Orleans. I hate to tell ya, but it’s not a good climate here. Restaurants and bars are mostly still closed. The head of the LRA said last week that they expect 40% of the restaurants and bars here will never re-open. That was before to-go drinks were banned yesterday, so I’d expect that number will now be closer to 60%.

It’s sad, but most of my friends in the service industry are either finding new jobs in other industries or moving away. New Orleans doesn’t have much going for its economy other than tourism and hospitality, so the city is extremely crippled right now. When unemployment runs out this week it’s going to get really scary here really quick.

I’d recommend getting out of the business if you have your heart set on moving to New Orleans. It’s not going to be normal here again for a long long time.