Desire Market

Published in Proximity #007

It’s mid-afternoon in Bywater, a neighborhood of New Orleans’ 9th ward, and I’m standing in the street with a can of High Life while James Brown accompanies the top of a river boat’s smokestack poking up over the levee as it chugs down the Mississippi. I’m at the Desire Market. I’m having one of the best Sundays in a long awhile.

Opened just after the first of the year, the market’s humble beginnings rest on a storied past while it’s proprietor already has big plans for the future. They currently provide the neighborhood with local produce, groceries (hot sauce is a must), typical flea market fare in “Earl’s Nook”, hot food and thousands of LPs served up by the duo Bywater Grooves and Wax as they prepare to open a record store a few blocks away. At the corner of Royal and Desire Streets it’s poised to embed itself in the daily flow of the locals – perhaps a bleary trip to pick up the breakfast essentials, followed by a late-afternoon mosey to peruse more leisurely and chat with any one of the characters who’re bound to be hanging around. And while the word “reinvention” is a bit belabored when it comes to New Orleans, I believe it apt enough in this case.

Desire Market itself is housed in an old wallpaper warehouse. That’s right, there’s still thousands of rolls of the stuff right above your head. Owner Jay (a.k.a. MC Trachiotomy, known to serve fresh pancakes and bloody mary’s to the crowds at his shows) lives in the infamous house next door – the Pearl. It’s one of the oldest in the neighborhood, has been on the pages of Vice magazine, and packs a magical legacy that all but guarantees the Desire Market’s success. Since the early 90’s Jay’s hosted a Sunday speak-easy out back with variety shows (rock, klezmer, drag – often all in the same night) capped by a hot breakfast served to all in the early morning hours. His plans for the future are more of the same, but with the market fueling a dinner club/speak-easy diner scene. Adding food into the mix down here is as natural as anything, music and food being synonymous with New Orleans culture.

The mix of junk, art, records, and home-grown produce also reflects the ethos of the neighborhood. Bywater and the surrounding 9th ward have been known for years as a low-rent haven for artists. Long-time residents and eager newcomers will happily fight to keep that creative working-class reputation in the face of seemingly inevitable gentrification. Jay and the Desire Market sum up that determination to stay true to radical roots. Hopefully, as the weather in New Orleans swells to sunny days and steamy nights, the market will continue to grow into a fail-safe recipe of music, friends, food, and brew.