New Orleans killings fuel protest, operator concerns

Nation's Restaurant News, Dec 16, 1996 by Ron Ruggless

NEW ORLEANS - The murders of three workers at a French Quarter restaurant early this month have fueled protests by merchants and residents and heightened the concerns of restaurateurs as the tourism-rich Sugar Bowl, Super Bowl and Mardi Gras near.

Hundreds of residents and merchants, marching on city hall Dec. 5 to protest the lack of police funding, were greeted by balconies draped with banners stating, "Warning, Tourists, The French Quarter Is a High Crime Area."

One of three suspects in the killings at the Louisiana Pizza Kitchen in the French Market here. which left a fourth person critically injured, is a recently hired dishwasher.

Those murders brought to 13 the number of homicides in one week and to 327 in the city for the year.

"Everybody is very concerned," said Lloyd Webre, vice president for communications at the Louisiana Restaurant Association. "They are concerned about solving the crime problem as well as the perception the rest of the country is going to have of New Orleans."

That perception could affect the tens of thousands of visitors expected for big events within the next month and a half. including the college-championship New Year's football game and culminating with Mardi Gras on Feb. 11.

"The most recent murders were apparently an inside job," Webre said. "I don't think there is anything the police could have done to prevent that."

However, as a result of the Pizza Kitchen murders and the suspect's prior criminal record, Webre said, "a lot of restaurants are doing more thorough background checks on employees."

Many New Orleans restaurateurs, some of whom have been attending city council meetings to urge increased funding for police in the city, already have begun reinspecting their hiring policies.

"It was very scary," said Karen Pfeifer, owner of the 6-year-old Bella Luna restaurant, which is about two blocks from the Louisiana Pizza Kitchen. "The fact that the murders occurred in a restaurant and apparently involved an employee frightened all of us.

"We're going to try to check into all potential hires' backgrounds a lot better," she said.

For visitors to the French Quarter, Pfeifer said, "we are recommending people be cautious and street-smart. You have to pay attention, both during the day and night."

Lydia Amato, president of the New Orleans Restaurant Association and general manager of Mother's Restaurant, said, "In our own restaurant we have decided to look at all of our practices to see where we can tighten up a little bit and to assure our employees that their safety is of utmost importance."

Other businesses besides restaurants are doing the same thing, Amato said.

"We are probably facing the same thing that any big city faces," she added. "It hit a high point with the most recent murders. There is a lot in place that assures the security of workers and tourists."

Jerry Fein, owner of the Court of Two Sisters, said he has reiterated to all his employees that "they shouldn't play hero if somebody comes in and demands the money."

Fein, who has served on a city task force to address the crime problems, added: "There is a certain sense of immediacy because of the bowl games and Mardi Gras, but the city must do something in the long term, including finding the funding that's been recommended for the police department."

New Orlean's police chief, Richard Pennington, was seeking an additional $4 million from the cash-strapped city to fund more police officers. Meanwhile, neighboring Jefferson Parish was lending the city between 40 to 150 additional police officers. Orleans Parish, which contains New Orleans, pledged deputies to help the city police officers.

Louisiana Gov. Mike Foster turned down the city's request for state trooper to patrol the streets. City officials declined his offer of National Guard military police. "That's all we need," one tourism executive was quoted as saying, "uniformed soldiers with M-16s standing around on street corners."

New Orleans Mayor Marc Morial acknowledged the recent murders had posed a problem for the French Quarter. "This is a tough time for our city," he said. "We're fighting the perception of crime as well as the reality.

"Statistics show there are 33 cities in America more violent than ours, and violent crime is down from last year, if only slightly, and substantially from two years ago," Morial told Reuters news service. "But those are just numbers. They don't begin to tell the story of a community in fear, crying out for relief."

In the short term, the Court of Two Sisters' Fein said, he doesn't expect much effect on tourism. However, he added, "in the long term it could affect the decisions of meeting planners and conventioneers as well as the weekend tourist to visit the city."

Amato of the restaurant association sought to assure tourists that the Louisiana Pizza Kitchen murders were an isolated incident for eateries in the city. "We have to keep our wits about us," she said. "These next six weeks are going to be real busy. We are really going to rock and roll. But we are a safe city. Visitors can come, have a great time, eat food, hear the music and not be afraid."