First Draft

A local staple restaurant located in Mid City is amidst a painting project. Katie’s, who skyrocketed to notoriety after Guy Fieri stopped in for a crawfish beignet and slice of pizza in 2011, is repainting the benches that are perched outside their front door, along with the larger bench across the street in front of their muraled storage building.

As Katie’s is a poppin’ spot, the outdoor benches are necessary for clientele to have a seat while waiting, sometimes as long as an hour or so, for their tables. Without them, there would be clusters of impatiently standing patrons swarming the area outside the door. The benches help to break up the crowds, and give a place of reprieve for Katie’s customers. 

Katie’s clientele is a smorgasbord of regulars – many with their names proudly displayed on tiny gold plaques along the bartop –  neighborhood residents, and tourists. Guy Fieri brings the tourists, the tenured staff keeps the regulars happy, and being a hidden spot tucked on Telemachus Street, conveniently between Canal and Bienville, makes this a neighborhood gem anyone can safely walk to and from. 

Katie’s has all the ingredients for a successful, New Orleans operation, with or without Guy Fieri. It has the originality and charm of a mom-n-pop, while maintaining an eclectic menu with daily changing specials to keep any foodie’s belly full and content. In typical New Orleans fashion, it has its quirks. This is no Commander’s Palace or Gallatoires. This is Katie’s. And those who love it, wouldn’t have it ever change.

Well, except for some painted benches, perhaps. 

There’s room for improvement in nearly every facet of life. I suppose Katie’s owner, Scott, envisioned better artwork outside the establishment to keep his patrons coming back. The benches were purple for as long as I’ve been a regular, which has been merely six months. The purple was more like a faded tie-dye, with yellow and blue and green streaks. 

One day last week, I went to Katie’s and noticed the benches were painted white. How foolish, I thought, thinking they traded their splashes of color for a blank slate. But it was no blank slate, per se, just a step along the process of re-beautifying the benches. 

Everything needs sprucing from time to time. No matter how much a staple, no matter how beautiful its tarnished aesthetic may be. Everything changes. Nothing lasts forever. Change is contradictorily a constant. Inevitable. And often, progress. 

Upon my next visit, there was a long po-boy etched onto the longer bench outside the muraled storage building. It was half-painted, not near being finished, but it pleased me much more than the all white. And it made me wonder if the mural, peeling and faded, on the wooden strips of housing behind the bench would get a revamping too. 

Maybe next month’s budget.

The other benches, those right outside the front door facing each other on the corner of Telemachus and Iberville, are bright and cheery. One has the river’s bend on the back of the bench, with little detailed oysters on the seat. The next bench is a perfect spring day: flowers and the Mr. Rogers’ quote of “It’s a beautiful day in the neighborhood,” scribbled in Sharpie on the tippy top edge. 

At Katie’s, it’s always a beautiful day in the neighborhood – a beautiful day at the neighborhood’s favorite spot. The benches are not finished, but they are in the works and should be complete very soon. It’s difficult to wedge the artist into her rightful spot amidst all the chaotic customers constantly flowing in and out of the restaurant. Good things take time. And there’s no need to rush beauty. 

Perhaps, to some, the old benches are better. Perhaps some prefer the white to the sketches and color splotches. Perhaps some, hopefully most, will prefer the new benches in all their fresh glory. I’m sure this will not be the last time Katie’s repaints their benches. But this marks the next era of standing, or sitting, outside Katie’s. 

Change is constant. Don’t fight it.