These days it seems as though the coronavirus is the only thing we read about or talk about, though this is not without cause. COVID-19 continues to spread across the United States ravaging the economy and taking hundreds of thousands of lives. One industry in particular has been hit particularly hard: the restaurant and bar business. The city of New Orleans is famed for its restaurants and live music. Unfortunately, however, the coronavirus has caused the closure of famous restaurants and bars. Among these include the famed K-Paul’s restaurant and indie music venue Gasa Gasa.

K-Paul’s was a staple in New Orleans cuisine. Founded in 1979, the restaurant was famed for upscaling Cajun fare and became a popular restaurant among both locals and tourists in the French Quarter. Unfortunately, however, as COVID-19 has forced intermittent closures and restrictions, K-Paul’s has opted to permanently close. They cited “repeated closings this year due to mandated business restrictions.” Sadly, the restaurant will not be put up for sale and its location will be retired.

In a different industry, New Orleans also experienced a heartbreaking loss. The popular uptown music venue, Gasa Gasa announced it will be closing and putting the location up for sale. The venue was a famous spot on ferret and helped to attract an art scene to the Uptown area. The closure comes after the owners realized the indoor live music industry has no set date for when it plans to reopen. Popular among Loyola and Tulane students, the bar will surely be missed.

The closure of places such as K-Paul’s and Gasa Gasa reflect the damaging impact coronavirus has had on the economy. While this is not a call to open up every aspect of the economy in order to preserve a city’s rich culture, it certainly reminds one of the importance of practicing safe habits in order to limit the spread of the virus.

It is a scary time we are enduring and living through and it is disheartening to say goodbye to restaurants and bars long loved by New Orleans inhabitants. But the Crescent City always finds a way to rebound. After Hurricane Katrina, the city also saw the closure of famed restaurants and bars, though the city always finds a way to recover and prevail. Therefore, while it is a harrowing time to live through as coronavirus surges, we must remember that the city will recover, and life will one day return to normal.