A popular Mid-City restaurant’s request for permission to reconfigure its footprint on the corner of N. Carrollton Avenue and Dumaine Street, a change that would enable it to nearly quadruple in size, was rejected Tuesday by the New Orleans Planning Commission.
After more than a dozen residents voiced complaints about parking, noise and congestion from Blue Oak BBQ, the commission voted 6-2 — over the recommendation of its professional staff — to deny the restaurant’s request for a zoning waiver that would allow it to expand from 2,360 square feet to more than 8,700 square feet.
The matter next goes to the City Council, which can overrule the Planning Commission’s decision.
Still, the decision was a setback for Blue Oak and its owners, Ronnie Evans and Philip Moseley, who have operated on the site since 2016 but found themselves increasingly at odds with neighbors since filing expansion plans early last year.
Tensions were further inflamed after Blue Oak purchased the Parkview Tavern, next to it on N. Carrollton, and threatened to evict the dive bar from its longtime home. The two sides later negotiated a lease through May 2025 that will allow the bar to stay open for now.
Tuesday’s hearing was the second time the Planning Commission has rejected the restaurant’s expansion plans. Last October, the commission denied the request because of neighborhood opposition. In January, Blue Oak was scheduled to go before the City Council but decided to pull the matter before it could be considered.
In the months since, the restaurant has met with neighbors several times to try to iron out their differences. At Tuesday’s commission hearing, it was clear they still have a way to go.
“To say that we were all fine and dandy through the nine-month procedure of these meetings trying to hash out what was going to happen is an untruth,” said Eddie Gonzales, a longtime resident of the neighborhood. “We were upset with what was going on.”
Blue Oak’s expansion plans in New Orleans
Blue Oak’s plans call for reconfiguring space on its existing lot and expanding into its back yard and seek a parking waiver that would reduce the number of spots it provides from seven, which is required, to two.
Neighbors have said parking in their historic neighborhood is already difficult and that doing away with five spaces would make it worse.
The Planning Commission also took issue with the parking waiver, and recommended denying that portion of the request, though it said the expansion plans overall were consistent with the city’s master plan and recommended approval.
After hearing from residents, however, the commission voted to deny it.
“There are too many concerns,” commissioner Katie Witry said.
Evans and Moseley did not respond to a request seeking comment.
No date has been set for the matter to go to the City Council.
District Council member Joe Giarrusso, whose office has been facilitating the neighborhood meetings, declined to comment.