dimebag1980

Did everyone see Todd Graves on the second hour of tonight's premiere of Secret Millionaire? He was FAR more generous than the guy who was on the hour before him. Todd and his wife wrote out three checks, each worth $100,000 to people who proved to them that they were deserving. I also didn't realize Cane's is now in 13 states! So when I came online I looked them up... they even have locations in Vegas now. I didn't know. He seems like a down-to-Earth guy, despite the fact that he mentioned he has someone who does his grocery shopping for him (wtf?).

Also for the record, I have no idea how it compares with the cities in south Louisiana, but I like to THINK it can hold its own. Local music is a big deal for a city's scene, and we seem to have no shortage of local bands.

Looking right now, I see for the next two months, the following acts (mostly musical) are scheduled for Shreveport and Bossier City: December Casting Crowns Denver and the Mile High Orchestra Ronnie Milsap Blue October Sunny Sweeney John Michael Montgomery B. Reith Family Force 5 Relient K TobyMac Trans-Siberian Orchestra Cheap Trick Carlos Mencia Adam Dale Forever Like Red Her Sweet Autumn Misery January Rodney Carrington <-- I already have tickets to this one Brad Paisley Darius Rucker Dierks Bentley Gary Allan Cheech & Chong <-- I'm REALLY looking forward to this one!! The Gatlin Brothers Loretta Lynn Nickelback Saving Abel Seether Squint Asteria Callahan The Gourds Peppino D'Agostino I'd say that's not a bad list for December and January!

Oh man that looks bad-ass with the two new buildings going there. Looks like before long downtown BR will have more density itself. I just got back in from downtown. Well, downtown Bossier anyway. We went down to the Horseshoe and to the Boardwalk to watch the awesome fireworks show they shoot off down there every year. My feet hurt. We had to get down there 3-4 hours early. Next Saturday... heading to the Dallas Christmas Parade in downtown Dallas, and then Medieval Times for dinner! Can't wait. We're going over there with our friends from Texarkana who went with us tonight for the fireworks.

Yeah we generally have clear air here, so I hate the haze those windows add, BUT I love that view. Thanks for representing for us, Richy, since I haven't been very good at doing it in a long time.

Actually yes and no. That stretch of buildings is actually Commerce Street, which the Red River District kind of spills out onto. It was originally intended to incorporate all that into the district. Unfortunately the district was a bit of a flop. But the true RRD is confined totally to the 'plaza' area underneath the Texas Street Bridge, and on the bottom floor of the Eldorado Casino parking deck. I do like the way our riverfronts are developed to an extent, but there are some things I'd have done different and there are still some things yet to be done. But it was inevitable that the riverfront area would develop the way it has done, since the two cities are joined by the river, like Little Rock/North Little Rock.

I was reading on the Urban Planet Arkansas forums yesterday (Little Rock, I believe?) and from what I read, Dillards' future doesn't look too bright. Might be worth a read. lol well, he could have a toy airplane (a very small one) in his hand and could be flying it around.

Thanks for sharing, Richy. I hope he enjoyed his stay. I stayed on the 21st floor of that hotel once, but my view was of Bossier City. And while Bossier City is home to me and always has been, it's still not the view one would want. I am envious of that sweet Shreveport view. Too bad for gold-plated windows, however, as they give photos of the Shreveport skyline a sort-of smoggy look.

Richy, did you make a friend while taking this photo? Looks like the guy down there is waving at you.

Yeah with the ALIVE project it would be awesome. Even if none of the other things happened, ALIVE alone or River Park alone would be awesome. But hope for the whole shebang!

That is a bad-ass project! The renderings are amazing. This will undoubtedly transform the riverfront and the skyline.

LOVING this thread. HATING those of you who get to live there!! I'm so jealous, I rarely get to visit but I really love it there. Thanks for the photos, all. Judging from my last photo additions to this thread, it's been almost 2 years since I've been down there, and it REALLY doesn't seem like it. My, how time flies...

I can see that from a city of New Orleans perspective, but I'm thinking metro. New Orleans has plenty of decent-sized suburbs. Though I am surprised to hear that the city of New Orleans itself has none of the restaurants you mentioned. Wow. I can see a TGI Friday's or a PF Chang's near downtown New Orleans. Perhaps not those other chains, but I can at least see those two down there.

Don't get me wrong now, Boardwalk is a good location for people who are going down there. But besides eating at Copeland's Cheesecake Bistro a couple of times, I haven't been down to the Boardwalk in many, many months. It IS a great location for restaurants, but it's inconvenient if you're not going to be down there for other reasons. But at least their other location could have been built somewhere in front of a strip shopping center or something. The Louisiana Downs location is so hard to get to, even worse than the Boardwalk location. You basically have to be going to the casino or the track to go there. I do like that we have Fudd's now, I just wish they were a little more convenient. Now as far as the state being so divided, I agree I-49 has helped to bridge that gap. I'm really talking about distance, though... 4+ hours to Baton Rouge and 5+ hours to New Orleans is tough. I wish it weren't that way, because I'd be through that area far more often than I am now. It's like Houston... I've done a day-trip to Houston before on a photo excursion, but that was tough. Even Dallas, at 3 hours, is tough to do as a day-trip. I wish New Orleans were day-trip accessible to me like it is you guys. Not just that, but then I could swing through Baton Rouge sometime and check it out more as well. Anyway I hope you all don't feel like I'm just whining... I just see the distance between us and wish it weren't so much. If you guys were as close as Monroe or Texarkana, I'd be there all the time! I never go to Monroe, only because to me there's no reason to go there. But if Baton Rouge or New Orleans were that close... heck I hate to say it, but I might not live in Shreveport-Bossier anymore.

Friday's I'd say was the result of people around here begging. They had three locations here until the early 80s... downtown, Shreve City, and somewhere else. I guess a lot of people missed them. I'd eaten at Friday's in Tyler, TX and in Illinois many times and liked it. Now that we have one here, though, it's not that special. The service is really bad and wait times are atrocious. Therefore I've only been twice and probably won't be back. Fudd's probably does have to do with our proximity to Dallas, because I know the guy who owns our Fudd's locations is from Dallas. I still think their locations are bad, though. All in all, we really don't have much that you guys don't. At least you have Bonefish, PF Chang's, Pei Wei... I could go on and on. lol I think it's a lot of give and take. But still, the Hooters thing tripped me out. I could see us having 2 easily, and MAYBE 3 if we had one in the West Shreveport area... but that'll never happen. I really wish Louisiana weren't so divided. It feels like I'll never be able to make it back down your way!

We only have 2 Fudd's (though that's 2 more than we had a couple years ago.) In my opinion both locations rather suck though. One is inside Harrah's Louisiana Downs and the other is in the Louisiana Boardwalk. I wish we had one like many of the ones in Dallas I've been to, where you can drive right to the restaurant. We finally got a Cane's in Bossier City, but I think they chose a bad location for it: inside Pierre Bossier Mall. That mall has become such a hole, I would never go out of my way to go there just for Cane's. I'd rather drive the 10 or so extra minutes to reach the Kings Highway location in Shreveport. And I certainly wouldn't send my wife to that mall just for Cane's. I love Cane's (Todd Graves is sitting on a gold mine with that place!!) but I wish they'd built it further out Airline Drive with the newer developments than inside that cruddy old mall. Man that's awesome, three Hooters locations. When my friend told me that I said, "Man you've got to be mistaken!" But now that I've checked the Hooters of Louisiana website, I know it's true. I know Hooters isn't the pinnacle of dining or entertainment, but it's still a place I enjoy going for a few beers and a Buffalo chicken sandwich with cheese fries! I want one near my office so bad, and I think I should write the owners of the Bossier store and tell them where the perfect location is. I saw it today... the Roadhouse Grill that recently closed. I can easily picture that as a Hooters. I love how active your forum is, you guys always seem eager to reply and discuss development.

Forgive me if this has been discussed and I missed it, but someone told me last week you guys have a Hooters opening in Denham Springs. Here I am hoping for a second Hooters in my area so I can have one closer to my office, and you all are getting #3? Am I correct? Don't you already have 1 location each on College and on Siegen? <-- did I spell that right? That's pretty insane and intense, considering metro New Orleans only has 2 locations that I know of. Or do they have 3? Did the French Quarter location close? I ate there not long before Katrina hit.

I wish I did. I don't even know where this construction is occurring. I thought I knew, but every time I go over where I thought it was being built, I see nothing... nothing at all. So I don't know.

Another proposed movie studio for Shreveport. This one is on Wallace Lake Road just north of Southern Loop. Looks quite large and nicely landscaped from the plan submitted. No idea who all is involved with this development but it does look promising. http://www.ci.shreveport.la.us/MPC/P-10-08.htm I still would like to see a full-fledged Disney animation studio built here since one of our own residents, Bill Joyce, is renowned for his creations which Disney/Pixar has brought to the big screen (Meet the Robinsons, Rollie Polie Olie (or however it's spelled), Robots, and more.

You guys have a Chevron station downtown? We don't have a single downtown gas station anymore... it's something we need again. Someone had proposed a large one with 6 franchise restaurants in it a few years ago but nothing ever became of it. Bummer. Hello. Wish I was there. Anywhere but Louisiana right now.

This sucks big-time. Higdon Ferry is such a nightmare as it is. I know they have been doing some roadwork in that area, but this development will put even more traffic right there. It's been about a year since I was there last... I'm not scheduled to vacation there this year until November, so have they widened Higdon Ferry between the loop and the racetrack? If not they soon will wish they had. By the way, I thought that fairgrounds was in use? Every time I'm there it always seems like something is going on there. Where is the new fairgrounds?