After purchase, concerns heighten over fate of iconic Circle Food Store

6th May 2019   ·   0 Comments

By Fritz Esker
Contributing Writer

Circle Food Store, the iconic African American-owned grocery store nestled on the corner of St. Bernard and Claiborne avenues, was purchased by local businessman Sidney Torres IV for $1.7 million at sheriff’s auction on April 25.

The historic store, which opened its doors in 1938 and for generations served as an anchor in the 7th Ward/Treme area, closed for business permanently in the Fall of 2018, amid lawsuits and millions of dollars of debt.

During its heyday, Circle Food Store not only provided fresh produce for neighborhood residents, but also housed a dentist’s office, a doctor’s office, check cashing facilities, and more. It was a one-stop shop for locals.

In 2005, the store flooded during Hurricane Katrina and spent years thereafter struggling to reopen its doors. In 2014, the store reopened after extensive renovations. In 2017, during an August storm that exhausted the city’s drainage system, the store flooded once again.

Torres told WWL’s Eyewitness News that his initial vision of the market was to develop it into something similar to the St. Roch Market on St. Claude Avenue.

That idea would not sit well with some residents.

“What I don’t want to see happen is for Circle to become another St. Roch Market,” said Father Bill Terry, rector of St. Anna’s Episcopal Church on Esplanade Avenue. “That won’t serve the community at all.”

Fr. Terry said the neighborhood largely remains a food desert. He said the Robert Fresh Market near Elysian Fields and St. Claude is the closest grocery store, but it is expensive. He hopes for a store that would give locals easier access to affordable fresh foods.

Darryl Durham, president of the Historic Faubourg Treme Association, shares Fr. Terry’s concerns.

“The community needs an accessible grocery store they can walk to,” Durham said.

Durham added that his organization is seeking a meeting with Torres to discuss plans for the Circle Food Store location, but has not yet been able to arrange an audience with Torres. He is hopeful that Torres will listen to the wishes of community members and adjust his plans accordingly.

“Progress and development is inevitable… but hopefully we can come up with a strategy that promotes business development while preserving the culture,” Durham said.

Fr. Terry also holds out hope that Torres will listen to input from neighborhood residents.

“The up side of dealing with Sidney Torres is he’s from the New Orleans area,” Fr. Terry said. “I hope he wants to develop this as much as a community resource as a profit center. If he does, he’ll win the respect of the broader community… and be an active participant in maintaining our traditions that we all love and embrace.”

Dwayne Boudreaux Jr., former owner of Circle Food Store, also hopes the store will stay true to its roots.

“We want it to stay a grocery store because the community needs one,” Boudreaux said.

Boudreaux said he had met Torres on a couple of previous occasions.

“He seems like a good guy. I wish him the best,” Boudreaux said.

The debate about what Circle Foods should become in some ways mirrors issues historic New Orleans neighborhoods are facing as a whole.

Durham said Treme is struggling to balance long-term residents with short-term renters. A grocery store in a residential neighborhood will typically offer fresh foods people can cook from home. However, tourists are less likely to cook, so stores in a tourist neighborhood will gravitate more towards packaged foods. If there aren’t affordable fresh food options for locals, it will be harder to keep locals in the neighborhood and will thus be harder for the area to retain the culture that made it a tourist attraction in the first place.

“The Treme and the 7th Ward are being squeezed historically by gentrification and non-owner-occupied short-term rentals,” Fr. Terry said. “These streets used to be filled with kids.”

Sidney Torres IV did not return our requests for comment as of press time.

This article originally published in the May 6, 2019 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.