A tiny mom-and-pop New Orleans restaurant plans to close next year after incurring thousands of dollars in city fines. Its fight over the issue has drawn attention to a license and fine process that routinely snares much larger names in the local hospitality sector and has city leaders vowing change.
Owners of Plume Algiers, an Indian restaurant on Teche Street in the Algiers neighborhood, have been seeking relief for fines incurred for selling alcohol for two years after the restaurant’s city-issued liquor license lapsed.
This week, they brought the issue to the New Orleans City Council, where council members including Mayor-elect Helena Moreno said they want to reform the city process that landed Plume Algiers here…