‘New’ New Orleans Cafe plans opening|[03/16/07]

Published 12:00 am Friday, March 16, 2007

The address is 1100 Washington St.

To some, simply mentioning the spot on the city’s main street evokes fond memories of a building that was a prime restaurant and nightspot in Vicksburg for more than 30 years, first and most recently as The Biscuit Company and, for a time, The New Orleans Cafe.

In coming weeks, new life will be breathed into the most popular 2,000 square feet of brick flooring in the city if the heady plans of Timothy Tillman come to fruition.

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&#8220It’s junky now, but soon it’s gonna be happening in here,” said Tillman, 41, to whom the structure’s owner, S.J. &#8220Skippy” Tuminello, leased the space in February.

The Vicksburg native and operator of Tillman Floor Care plans to reopen it as The New New Orleans Cafe, complete with a high shine on the bricks adorning the walls and floors to diminish the dank, cobweb-filled atmosphere that Tillman and his son, Antonio Scott, found when they began a massive cleanup effort.

&#8220We were in here working when it was freezing, just off knocking dirt falling on our heads,” said Scott, who will help manage the business.

Cleaning up the place to meet codes for serving food will still need the approval of state health officials, after a permit application is submitted and inspections completed.

Though re-establishing a restaurant remains in his plans, Tillman has his eye toward other amenities, such as a full-fledged lounge area for the bar facing Grove Street, spoken word performances, small musical offerings and movie showings envisioned for the bar just downstairs, and a photo studio to replace a dart room.

Much of the interior decor will stay and be refinished, such as the original furniture and light fixtures, and the pool table and foosball games will stay.

&#8220We’ve spent about $12,000 already,” said Tillman, also a contractor for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and once an employee of the now-defunct Delta Point restaurant’s catering business. He said the New New Orleans Cafe will not only cater to those primarily over age 25, but will have enough security to enforce it.

&#8220It will be strictly for adults,” Tillman said. &#8220People who can have a few drinks and still talk to you without leaning into you,” Tillman said.

Tillman said the walls of the building that once housed the U-Need-A-Biscuit bakery will get a fresh coat of polyurethane along with the floors, a task about halfway complete.

A crew of Tillman, his son and a handful of other flooring employees have made appreciable headway in restoring the building from what was an ignominious end to a legendary place for locals to grab a bite and a beer in one fail swoop.

For much of the 20th century, the building was home to a number of establishments, including a dry goods store, furniture store, a law office and meeting place for various private organizations.

In the mid-1970s, The Biscuit Company opened there, offering a full array of food, a lounge and live entertainment. Above the restaurant and bar and facing Washington Street was The Collection, a gift store.

After a brief period of vacancy, The Biscuit Company re-emerged in 2001 with another name change. Two years later, the business closed after mud and sewage began seeping through walls after heavy thunderstorms that coincided with street improvements on Washington Street initiated during the city of Vicksburg initial urban renewal effort.

Work to the street was blamed for the seepage and resulted in a lawsuit in 2004 in which Tuminello and others claimed the damage was caused by work to repair a drainage tunnel under Washington Street and changes made by firms contracted by the city to nearby storm drains and curbing.

Letters from the plaintiffs’ legal counsel to the city said damages were likely to exceed $500,000.

When a settlement was reached between the two parties in July 2006, the amount was not disclosed.