The Road Less Traveled

If you think it feels like things are speeding up and change is coming faster than ever, well, you’re right. It took us hundreds of thousands of years to get to a worldwide population of 3 billion. We got there in 1927. From there, it only took about 70 more years – one lifetime – to get to a population of 6 billion.

Back at the 3 billion mark, fewer Americans lived in urban areas. When they needed to shop for necessary supplies they’d talk about “going to town.” “Town” was often a single street. A commercial corridor. A “Main Street.” Here in New Orleans, over the 300 years of our existence we’ve had a number of main streets. Canal Street. Dryades Street. Magazine Street. Recently we’ve added Freret Street.

The current incarnation of Freret street as a commercial district began with the re-birth of New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. One of the first outposts of resurrection was a then audaciously high-end, hip, cocktail bar and restaurant, called Cure.

Cure would go on to win all kinds of awards, including the Oscar of hospitality - a James Beard Award for “Outstanding Bar Program” - and the company behind it, CureCo Bar & Restaurant Group would go on to open Val’s, also on Freret Street, and other establishments, including Cane & Table on Decatur Street.

Neal Bodenheimer is a Co-Founder and the Managing Partner of these ventures, as well as a partner in Dauphine’s in Washington DC, Co-Chair of the Board of Directors of Tales of the Cocktail Foundation, and author of the book, Cure, New Orleans Drinks and How to Mix ‘em.

Tourists who visit New Orleans will often check out Freret Street and Magazine Street, but mostly they want to see The French Quarter.

Typically, they’ll stay in a hotel in the Quarter, or at an Air B’nB in a neighborhood.

There’s another local accommodation option too. It’s just west of the city. It sits on 7 and a half acres. It’s staffed by 12 employees, 24 hours a day 7 days a week, and has a full concierge desk. There’s a shuttle service to the French Quarter, and to special events like Saints games and Jazz Fest. The concierge will arrange any tour you want to go on. And they have a souvenir shop where everything is intentionally priced lower than downtown.

So, what is this place? It’s the KOA campground in River Ridge. There are 100 RV sites, 4 tent sites, and 3 deluxe lodges. The