A mixed-use development on Government Street aims to become the latest Mid City hotspot with a newly opened barber shop and plant nursery, plus a forthcoming, New Orleans-born taco restaurant.
Developer Garrison Neill, whose father payed a key role in the renovation of downtown Hammond, bought the former site of Garden District Nursery a year ago with the intention of reestablishing the aging property’s role in the community—while respecting what came before. “I started out looking for something that was 800 square feet or less, and I ended up buying almost an acre on Government Street,” Neill says. “And it was really because the block just has so much history.”
Previously owned by the Mese family for over 30 years, Neill wants to continue the family’s passion for the Government Street corridor by introducing twists on Louisiana businesses, like The Parker Barber. The Aveda salon, with established locations on New Orleans and Hammond, is owned by his family business, Neill Corporation.
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Fitted with five chairs and staffed by specialists trained specifically in men’s grooming, Neill imagines it as “a salon for men.”
“It looks and feels like a barber shop,” he explains of the space, which occupies the front half of the former nursery building. “But the thing that makes the team different is that they really know how to cut any type of hair, not just fades.”
Surrounding The Parker Barber is D’s Garden Center, which occupies the back half of the property. D’s Garden Center, owned by Darren Duffy, continues the legacy of Garden District Nursery with a wide selection of plants, as well as local vendors’ products like handmade soaps from Fern Meadows and honey from Bindi. Duffy also has plans to sell Christmas trees out of the nursery’s shaded greenhouse.
Duffy, whose family has been in the nursery business in New Orleans and at a location on Pecue Lane for over 30 years also wants to provide an upgraded experience to those who visit the property and the nursery, even if they don’t leave with a plant.
“In today’s environment, you could pick up a plant at a bunch of different locations and, I don’t wanna say everything’s gonna be cookie cutter, but everything’s kind of gonna be in a row,” Duffy explains. “We’re trying to present a relaxing environment. There are some nurseries around the country that we’ve experienced and researched that have that same concept where you’re just trying to tie a little bit of nature in, especially in the location here where we’re towards the inner part of the city.”
This garden, which eventually will include fountains and other landscaping features, will serve as a connective tissue to the newest addition to the development: Barracuda taco shop.
Opening an uptown New Orleans location in 2019 and an Algiers Point location in 2021, owner Brett Jones’ goal of bringing homemade tortillas, fresh juices, vegetarian options and taco staples into local communities at great values aligned perfectly with Neill’s goal to unify the Garden District.
“We think every neighborhood should have a really good taco stand,” Jones says. “Just being there for neighbors and building out a space for the community is a big part of it for us.”
Returning to Baton Rouge after leaving to work in fine dining restaurants after graduating from LSU, Jones wants to respect the neighborhood’s past while creating its future. This concept is seen in Barracuda’s use of the former GD’s Barbeque site, itself a retrofitting of one of the first Standard Oil station in Louisiana. Jones plans to keep the structure of the space intact, utilizing the awning of the former gas station for patio seating. He’ll also return the space to the original blue and white color scheme, which happens to be Barracuda’s theme, as well.
Barracuda, set to open in the fall with outdoor seating for about 140, is also working collaboratively with D’s Garden Center to emulate the landscaping of the garden that the New Orleans location has become known for.
“It’s a one-stop shop. You can get a haircut and a shave, buy some plants for your house and buy some tacos and margaritas; you can do all of those things in the space,” Jones explains. “As far as us collaborating with D’s, it’s going to be a never-ending variation on plant installations.”
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With both The Parker Barber and D’s Garden Center already active parts of the community and Barracuda on the way, the Neill development on Government Street is becoming a veritable community oasis.
In the near future, Neill hopes to lease out two other spaces on his property, mentioning the potential for a more kid-focused spot, like an ice cream shop or a snoball stand, that would blend with the family-friendly environment he envisions for the property.
“We’re in talks with a few different people,” Neill says. “We’ve been waiting for the right co-tenant mix because we do want this to be a very neighborhood-centric development. We’re hoping to find someone that enhances the dynamic of the neighborhood.”