Katrina-Battered Baskin-Robbins Resurrected

Baskin-Robbins announced the grand opening of the company's first shop to open in New Orleans since the Hurricane Katrina disaster in 2005.

The location opened on the fifth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina and stands in the exact location of a Baskin-Robbins shop that was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina. The original shop, along with five other local-area Baskin-Robbins locations, closed due to damages sustained during the hurricane.

The new Baskin-Robbins shop located at 1515 E. Judge Perez Drive in Chalmette, just south of the Ninth Ward, is owned by William and Catherine McIntyre, who are local to the New Orleans area. William McIntyre is also the partial owner of the Saltwater Grill, located on Carrollton Avenue in New Orleans.

"We saw this as a great opportunity to help revitalize an area that was devastated by Hurricane Katrina," William McIntyre says. "We have confidence in the continued regrowth of the community and continue to do all we can to help restore the city and make it even better than before Katrina struck."

"There is a great resurgence in this city, and we're humbled and proud to open our newest Baskin-Robbins shop in Chalmette on the fifth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina," says Janet Astor, vice president of development for Baskin-Robbins. "Baskin-Robbins has been part of the community for more than 30 years, and we look forward to serving our ice cream enthusiasts our signature 31 flavors and other ice cream treats with lots of smiles."

The McIntyres are excited to be part of the global Baskin-Robbins family and hope the new Baskin-Robbins opening will bring a resurgence of the Baskin-Robbins locations in the market. "Our opening day was really busy," McIntyre says. "We hope it's a sign of things to come—not just for our Baskin-Robbins store, but for the area as a whole."