About the NOCC Business Directory
Welcome to the New Orleans Claiborne Corridor (NOCC) Business Directory!
We celebrate our New Orleans culture to “Take it to the Streets” and on this site we elevated the brand by “Bringing it to the Clouds” –here we advance the tool of the world-wide-web.
In supporting our mission of promoting commerce, community and culture, we are elevating the businesses that line and surround our historic North Claiborne Avenue through the NOCC Business Directory. These businesses featured are hidden treasures, pop up merchants and small and emerging businesses that epitomise the grit, spirit, creativity and resolve of our district. This business directory is a resource for the cultural economy, supported by locals and tourists alike who patronize our commercial districts. Our objective is to be a link to the thriving cultural and historic neighborhoods of the 6th and 7th wards and Tremé. In doing so we will enhance the visibility of its entrepreneurs and long-time residents.
This site was launched with the generous support of the New Orleans Redevelopment Authority (NORA) and is managed by Ujamaa Economic Development Corporation.
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The history of our district
New Orleans attracts visitors from around the world and our North Claiborne Avenue has an enduring legacy as the one of the most persistent commercial districts in the city of New Orleans. Disinvestment plagued the area with the building of the elevated I-10 Expressway [insert the year here]; it resulted in the demolition of over 300 live-oak trees and the closing of over 300 black-owned businesses. And where struggle was the norm for the remaining businesses, the resilient nature to survive for over fifty years, finally came with a reward.
In 2018 the City of New Orleans partnered with the U.S. Economic Development Administration to fuse a revival in the corridor, called the Cultural Innovation District. The NOCC Directory ensures that the world is made aware of the wonderful cultural economy that exists in our neighborhood.
Today, as Claiborne Avenue experiences new growth and resurgence, it is being led by the neighborhood-serving businesses who have remained as anchors of their community in the formation of the Claiborne Avenue Merchant and Business Association. Led by Joan Rhodes, of the Rhodes Funeral Home, and Edgar Chase, IV, of Dooky Chase Restaurant, the Claiborne Avenue Merchant and Business Association has members with family businesses over a hundred years old, as well as new and daring entrepreneurs making their mark. This business directory represents one way that the Association responds to the needs of their community constituents. Connecting the directory membership to training and capacity building opportunities as we build an online voice is another way that we encourage the revitalization. We work for community, economic development and sustainability far beyond the COVID-19 pandemic, to enhance the quality of life for our businesses and residents.
