Hurricane Katrina Helps Start Restaurant
“Hurricane Katrina may have displaced tens of thousands of Americans and ripped at the fabric of New Orleans, but for Latoya Foster-Filson, it was a new beginning.
The former Crescent City resident was inspired to open a Springdale eatery that serves food from that historic American city.
Her restaurant, New Orleans To Go, opened in October, in part to create work for storm-displaced cousins who had moved north to live with her.
She approached Business Loan Express, a lender based in New York City, which offered a $50,000 loan, called a Community Express Loan, but at the steep interest rate of 12 percent. A good chunk of that loan - $17,000 - paid for a new ventilation system.
Community Express Loans focus on borrowers who are veterans, women and minorities. The idea is to home in on groups that historically have had a hard time getting business loans.
Foster-Filson, 26, who by now had four cousins living with her, opted to open a full-service restaurant that offers lunch, as well as dinner, until 7 p.m. On the menu besides po’ boys: gumbo, jambalaya, red beans and rice, pot roast and gravy, oysters, barbecued beef, catfish and cheeseburgers.”