Gotta think the French Quarter isn’t the best place to park your Porsche anyway.
If you’re familiar with New Orleans, you know that pretty much anything goes after dark in the Quarter. Tourists pack Bourbon Street and get hammered off sugary concoctions full of God knows what, most of them end up vomiting at some point throughout the night, and mysterious puddles pop up in the street when you know it hasn’t been raining. Definitely not somewhere I’d want to park my expensive luxury car.
But the French Quarter is also a residential neighborhood – though apparently not everybody appreciates living in the middle of the madness.
One new resident of the French Quarter is apparently especially aggravated over a bubble machine outside of a bar near his home, and is even threatening to take the bar to court.
Burt Benrud is the vice president of Cafe Du Monde, the (highly overrated) 24-hour beignet restaurant located at the edge of the Quarter that for some reason everybody has to try when they visit New Orleans. And he also just bought a place in the French Quarter, which like most places in the neighborhood, is located across the street from a bar.
This particular bar, MRB, has a bubble machine on the balcony that they use to draw attention and attract customers. But apparently Benrud isn’t a fan – because it blows bubbles onto his Porsche, which he parks on the sidewalk.
According to WGNO, the bar has been using the bubble machine for 7 years. But after Benrud moved in a couple of months ago, MRB owner Joel Moody said his new neighbor began filing complaints with the city, even reportedly calling police 15 times over the bubble machine, which Benrud says is damaging his vehicle and makes it impossible for him to have a drink on his balcony:
“It’s not just bubbles that he’s blowing. He’s blowing soap…
I’d like to be able to enjoy my property. I’d like to be able to sit out on my balcony and have a cocktail without having to worry about a bubble landing in my drink. I mean, is it nontoxic? Can you drink this stuff?”
Man, talk about first world problems. Getting a bubble on your $100k car or a bubble in your drink. Chances are if you’ve been out drinking in New Orleans you’ve ingested a lot worse than some bubble solution…
Benrud even threatened to sue the bar over their bubble machine:
“I’ll engage a lawyer and see where this goes.”
Well if there were any question which side the community was on, over the weekend hundreds showed up in support of the bar, blowing bubbles all over the place in a scene that would probably give Benrud an aneurysm.
@multiverse_makayla In New Orleans we protect our culture, even when it’s just bubbles! #bubbledaynola #bubbleday #nola #neworleans #MRB #frenchqaurter #bubbles #neworleansculture
@neworleanshouses The bar has had a bubble machine for years. A new neighbor hates it and has called the police over 15 times and is threatening to sue so New Orleans showed up to support the bar! #neighborhood #neighbor #fun #bubbles #petty #nola #neworleans #fq #frenchquarter
@aubreyavocado One thing about us, dont tell us what to do
@olsenventures Last week a guy threatened to sue over his Porsche getting some bubbles on it from a local business. Today the entire French Quarter said “don’t move here if you don’t like fun”. #frenchquarter #nola #neworleans
This is just one reason I love New Orleans so much. I used to live down there, and the city doesn’t take kindly to people who try to bully local businesses or throw their weight around. And pretty much anything can be used as an excuse for a party – even a protest over a bubble machine.
MRB also happens to be one of my favorite bars in the French Quarter (great food, off the beaten path, they even have an oyster truck in the courtyard – check it out sometime) so it’s nice to see the community rallying behind the bar against a jerk like this.
I mean, let’s be honest, he’s lucky that bubbles are the only thing getting on his car. Leave it parked there long enough and there’s a good chance you’ll come out and see a drunk guy taking a dump on the hood or something.
But now I have even more reason to go to MRB the next time I’m back in the Big Easy.
The post Hundreds Show Up To Protest With Bubbles After Homeowner Threatens To Sue New Orleans Bar Over Bubble Machine Blowing On His Porsche first appeared on Whiskey Riff.