Former congressman and top White House adviser Cedric Richmond is stepping back from national politics and embarking on a new phase of his career, moving into real estate in New Orleans.
Last month, Richmond and New Orleans political consultant Blair Boot purchased the former Marti’s restaurant building at the corner of North Rampart and Dumaine streets. They plan to bring the historic building back to life, with a new restaurant group taking the lead.
“It’s certainly the first time we’ve taken a piece of New Orleans culture and history for the purpose of restoring and preserving it as a historic treasure,” Richmond said in an interview this week. “My goal is that this is not the last time.”
Richmond and Boot purchased the two-story restaurant building, an attached two-story office building and six apartments next door for $2.1 million. The family of the late New Orleans real estate developer Joe Yeager has sold the property.
Yeager, who died in a car accident last summer, owned the historic building for more than 10 years.
Building at the corner of N. Rampart and Dumaine streets in New Orleans, Thursday, December 5, 2024. (Staff photo: David Grunfeld, The Times-Picayune | NOLA.com)
Richmond also purchased a single-family home next door to the apartment from the Yeagers for $350,000. The house, which was partially damaged in the fire, will be renovated and kept for personal use.
Richmond, a lawyer who was first elected to Congress in 2010, has served as a strategist for the Democratic National Committee since leaving his post in President Joe Biden’s administration in 2022.
Richmond also said that while he is involved in real estate development projects, he will not leave the political arena completely and will continue to advise the DNC on a part-time basis.
FILE – White House adviser Cedric Richmond boards Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews outside Maryland, July 21, 2021. Currently a top adviser to President Joe Biden’s re-election campaign, Richmond will soon be joined by Mitch Landrieu.
“But anything I can do to take the city back, I’m very interested,” Richmond said. “For me, this is a new form of public service. I will continue to be involved in politics and public service, but I want to find another way to leave a legacy.”
lots of plans
The Marti’s building is home to a storied New Orleans restaurant legend. It opened in 1971 as a classic French Quarter-style bistro. In the 1990s, it became Peristyle, and under chef Ann Carney, it became one of the city’s most famous restaurants.
Martin Schambra sits at the bar of Marti’s in the French Quarter in 1985. (GE Arnold / NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune)
In late 2013, Gautreau’s Patrick Singley and chef Drew Lockett brought the restaurant back to life as the new Marti’s. However, construction of the Rampart Street streetcar disrupted commerce on the street, so it closed two years later and never reopened.
Mr. Yeager, who has owned the restaurant and adjacent property since 2012, had wanted to reuse the restaurant but was unable to find a suitable tenant, his attorney Mike Sherman said Friday. .
Peristyle Restaurant bar in 2003 (John McCusker / NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune)
“Joe had a love for historic buildings and loved owning these buildings, but there were a lot of projects he didn’t have time for,” Sherman said.
In recent weeks, Richmond and Boot have been successful in attracting interest from restaurateurs.
“We are talking with several restaurant groups and will figure out what is best for the building and the neighborhood,” Richmond said.
He added that although the name may change, the building will remain a restaurant.
“Some of the chefs we’re talking to already have a following independently, so we’re not going to dictate to them what to call it,” he said. Said.
Jaeger as a mentor
Richmond, a New Orleans native, began his political career at age 26, just one year after graduating from Tulane University Law School. He served in the Louisiana House of Representatives for 11 years before being elected to Congress representing Louisiana’s 2nd Congressional District. He made a name for himself in Washington as a moderate Democratic consensus builder.
Who will replace Cedric Richmond? The race is finally heating up.
When he left Congress in 2020 to become director of the White House Office of Public Engagement, he was already chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus and a member of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee. He left the Biden administration in 2022 and worked with the DNC to help elect Democratic senators.
Since then, he has spent much of his time in New Orleans. He also learned about commercial real estate development from Yeager until his mentorship was cut off by Yeager’s unexpected death.
Joe Yeager, President and CEO of MCC Real Estate Group, passed away on June 23, 2024.
Ms. Richmond said she had been discussing the future of Ms. Yeager and Ms. Marti’s estate for months. He was also considering redeveloping the dilapidated Canal Street Hotel building at Canal Street and Claiborne Avenue, one of Yeager’s most visible eyesores in the city.
“We were working to make it happen,” Richmond said. “I still want to get back into commerce, but I can’t do it without him.”
In the meantime, he and Mr. Booty’s daughter, Elania Booty, will help manage the property, begin making minor repairs and cosmetic upgrades to the apartment, and begin working toward closing a deal with a new restaurant operator. There is.
“I want to honor Joe’s legacy and do something that would make him proud,” he said.
