New shop lease signed; Storyville New Orleans to open March 27

March 13, 2009 by Josh Harvey

Today, a new era begins for Storyville -- the New Orleans era. This morning we signed a short term lease on a Magazine Street space. The new shop, Storyville New Orleans, will open on Friday, March 27.

Storyville's quest to open a shop in New Orleans dates back almost two years. I spent the summer of 2007 selling Storyville tees on tables set up on the corner of Decatur and Ursalines Streets in the French Quarter. In June 2007, Storyville even made an offer on a Uptown New Orleans spot near the intersection of St. Charles and Carrollton Avenues. In the end, the landlord wanted too much money for the spot, so the second Storyville location opened in Austin instead of New Orleans. But we never lost sight of one of our biggest goals -- to open a shop in New Orleans as soon as it was feasible.

When we got the opportunity to run Metro Three for three weeks earlier this year, our suspicion was confirmed: Storyville and New Orleans were meant to be together. You can to look no further than the name of our shop or my place of birth for proof.

Back to the new shop. Storyville New Orleans will be located at 2126 Magazine Street. The shop is located next door to Diva's Shoe Box and a couple doors down from the soon-to-be opened Snap Fitness 24/7 Center. The space that Storyville New Orleans will occupy was once the art gallery and studio of famous New Orleans folk artist Simon. Simon's brightly painted shop signs can be seen up and down Magazine Street and all over New Orleans.

In the beginning, Storyville New Orleans will be a fairly simple operation. We will focus mostly on our expanding line of original tees and baby clothes. If the shop does well and we decide to make this new shop our permanent home, we will additional services, such as customized tee shirts. We may also eventually offer screen printing services. We'll also spend some more time and money to bring the New Orleans shop up to the standards of the existing Baton Rouge and Austin shops (within reason -- the new shop is smaller than the Austin shop and about half the size of the Baton Rouge shop). But before we get ahead of ourselves, let's get this little Magazine Street shop a little time to blossom.

Storyville's venture into New Orleans would not have been possible without the help of Carol and Michael Stamatedes. Carol and Michael are my aunt and uncle, and are also New Orleans natives now living in Katy, Texas. They are giving back to New Orleans in a special way -- by providing an opportunity for their nieces and nephews to put the family touch on a Magazine Street shop.

Stay tuned for more updates on Storyville New Orleans. Like all things Storyville, the New Orleans shop will be a work in progress. These photos, taken on March12, give you the first glimpse of the new shop ... and an idea of the work we have to do before March 27.