Tulane’s plans to demolish Ted’s Frostop Diner to build student housing have been temporarily put on hold by the Historic District Landmark Commission, causing conflicting opinions among students and residents. 

Ted’s Frostop Diner, located along Claiborne Avenue, was established in 1955 and has been a beloved diner frequented by students and residents of the neighborhood over the 70 years it’s been open. But, in late March community members were shocked by the developers of Tulane’s new apartment style dorms, who announced the demolition of the diner. 

Zach Smith, the land use consultant for this project, explained why the project has just now been announced. 

“You have folks that don’t want their name associated with the project until it’s actually moving forward. You have folks where any potential variable can come in and kill the deal. So there’s a whole range of reasons why, but it is a standard operating procedure and commercial real estate for folks to be on the [non-disclosure agreement], and it prevents people from making public announcements,” Smith said. 

George Rowley, a resident of the neighborhood who has been going to Frostop most of his life, shared his memories in Frostop as well as his opinion on Tulane’s expansion. 

“My father says I had my first hamburger ever here. I come here six mornings a week. Once or twice for lunch also. It concerned me,” Rowley said. 

Rowley wasn’t upset with Tulane and its expansion, but for the way the expansion is handling Frostop. 

“I don’t have a problem with [the dorms], it’s the business. I have a problem with them feeling they have to remove Frostop to accomplish the investment,” Rowley said.

The developers or business, as Rowley said, are RCR Ventures, who are owned and operated by the Robért Family Fresh Market chain.

They unveiled their plans to also incorporate Frostop into their dorms by having the iconic rootbeer mug and sign featured on the front of the dorm building. Although the building would be demolished, the diner would also be reopened on the first floor of the residence hall. In the time between demolition and construction, Ted’s Frostop would operate through a food truck that would pass through the neighborhood. 

Matthieu Robért, one of the developers from the Robért family justified these plans as a way to give Frostop, “A new home that will allow long term viability.”

A business student at Loyola, Maxfield Mabius, agreed with the reopening of Frostop in the Tulane dorm for the same reason. 

“Yes it’s a part of New Orleans history, but like they (other students) only care about it online. They don’t go there, they don’t support that business. Tulane wasn’t going to completely get rid of Frostop, they were going to include it which would make it a profitable company. I feel like that’s more important, because people don’t care about the building itself but the idea of Frostop,” Mabius said. 

Despite Frostop’s planned reopening, residents and students alike agreed it wouldn’t be the same atmosphere that the original building offers. 

“Putting Frostop inside the dorm, that’s nothing more than a student dining hall with the name Frostop on it. I can’t see the regulars going into that environment. Like would you want to go into a Tulane dorm to eat here? Of course I’ll try it but it’s not going to be the same thing,” Rowley said. 

Another resident who frequents Ted’s Frostop, John LaGuardia, also enjoyed the familiar feeling of Frostop. 

“We come in and we eat breakfast every morning, and we enjoy each other’s company. We discuss things and we have a really nice time for about an hour. Can’t really find that too much anymore, anywhere. This place has an ambiance, and I will miss that,” LaGuardia said.

Other than the demolition, students were also worried about the new dorm’s location and the safety issues it could pose being along a busy street. 

“Who’s going to want to walk across Claiborne to get to class? That doesn’t make a lot of sense. We’re going to have dead Tulane students flying,” Mabius said. 

Ava Smith, a Loyola music therapy and public health major, was also concerned for the safety of Tulane students. 

“It’s close to the stadium, the school’s a lot further down than that. It’s an inconvenience for the students, and inconvenient for everyone around them. The reality of Tulane is, there’s going to be stumbling drunk people coming back to their dorms at 3:00 AM, not looking,” Smith said. 

These possible issues and attachments were also voiced at both a community meeting on April 6 and then at a City Hall meeting on April 8. 

Smith attended this meeting and saw the impact Frostop had on the community and the issues that came with losing it.  

“I never fully got the appeal, I’m not from here. But, when I heard it was happening I ended up at the meeting and I just saw how the community and how many people were upset about it. I didn’t fully understand until I showed up. It just showed me there’s so much history to this place, and there are people who have been here for decades. You can’t just take away a part of someone’s history like that, ” Smith said. 

Nicholas Oliver is a political science major at Loyola who also saw the historical value of Frostop. 

“My official stance is that it’s tearing down a staple of Uptown. That burger spot is so iconic, even if it is kind of overpriced. It’s super lame to get rid of it and turn it into a hideous dormitory,” said Oliver. 

The Historic District Landmark Commission had come to the same conclusion after two hours of public comment regarding the importance of Frostop, resulting in a unanimous vote to reject the developer’s request for a demolition permit. 

Although the HDLC rejected the developer’s request for a demolition permit, it was only a recommendation, not a final decision. Instead, the New Orleans City Council will have the choice to overturn the decision made by the Commission if the developers appeal within 10 days of the meeting, making their deadline April 18. 

With the possibility of Ted’s Frostop remaining open, some tried to be optimistic about the diner’s future.

 “There’s a large part of me hoping there’s enough people interested in preserving this iconic restaurant, and that they rethink and redesign their layouts. Seventy years, I knew Ted Steinberger, the original owner. And he is rolling in his grave right now. It’s a sad day but we’ll see,” Rowley said.