New Orleans Reborn In Wreckages (3/3)

Despite the various help, New Orleans has watched an unprecedented disaster from Hurricane Katrina debilitated restaurants. Rich Senopole, director of the Maricopa Community Colleges Small Business Development Center, says, “A little planning can help businesses avoid long-term disruption.” But few start-ups and small businesses think about disasters, because they believe the likelihood is low. “It takes something like this (Hurricane Katrina) happening to remind us how important that it," Senopole said. Adds Jim Walker, president of DataPreserve in Scottsdale: "It's not if, but when (disaster will strike). So you want to have a game plan." The critical question may be whether you can afford to have your restaurants damaged. Frank says, “Some people don’t by insurance, so when the storm come, they have nothing left. I don’t have business disturbing insurance. Some of my friends have them. One of my Japanese friends has a restaurant, now they have got 50 thousand dollars a month. But I don’t have them. But at least I have the insurance to have them repair my building.” To be prepared, every time there is storm, Frank Wong nails plywood on the wall of his restaurant to protect his window. Besides, his restaurant is built relatively high compared with other restaurants. “We’re three foot above the water,” says Frank. Before the storm, Frank put everything in a freezer. They don’t have electricity for three days. His freezer works at 27 degree. So everything he got in the freezer is OK. He put all his meat in a cooler, but left the vegetable out of the cooler. He said, “You don’t put vegetable in a cooler, just room temperature.” Despite a situation as unstable as it was before, most industry players remain optimistic about New Orleans’ restaurants’ future. Fang in Minnesota says, “I believe New Orleans will be even stronger than they were before. Restaurant business could be the first to come back, because I think people need a place where they can feel good. So I think restaurants offer that kind of place where they can have a nice meal with their friends. I think it’s a very positive experience. I think everybody in New Orleans needs that. So I think the hospitality will be the first industry to come back. As a New Orleans, Frank Wong’s also expressed his firm determination, “New Orleans will come back stronger. The future will be brighter. Look at what happened to New York after Sep 11th. More tourists will come to New Orleans. We’re going to be stronger, and more organized and more beautiful, The convention center is still intact. All the uptown area is still intact. The main attractions of New Orleans are still there. There will be better New Orleans, and we are all prepared to do a better thing for New Orleans. I really believe we will have a better future.”