A new lodging option for visitors could be coming to downtown Clarksdale.
During its meeting Monday, the Clarksdale board of commissioners paved the way for a new look at 164 Delta Ave. at the site of the former Madidi Restaurant.
Commissioners unanimously approved a recommendation from the city planning and zoning board for a change in the conditional-use permit, allowing a hostel at the property.
Robert Weinstein owns and operates the Auberge Nola in New Orleans and has hopes of opening a second property, this one in Clarksdale.
The Auberge Nola advertises itself as the finest hostel in New Orleans. The boutique is located in the Lower Garden District between the French Quarter-Downtown area and the Garden District-Uptown. The travel website Trip Advisor.com awarded the hostel Awards of Excellence in 2015 and 2016 as 209 of 269 reviewers gave the hostel an excellent rating.
Weinstein envisions a similar offering with the Auberge Clarksdale.
“I’m so excited to come here,” said the New Orleans native and resident.
He first found out about Clarksdale when a visitor to his hostel in New Orleans left behind a key fob for the Shack Up Inn. After doing some research on the Internet on the unique lodging experience offered by the Shack Up Inn, Weinstein made it a mission to visit Clarksdale.
And that first visit, made about three years ago, sold him on the city and its potential.
“I just kind of fell in love with it. Who would have thought there’s so many foreigners traveling here,” he said.
Prior to Monday’s board meeting, Weinstein had lunch at the Ground Zero Blues Club. He said that every diner was a foreigner, save for a couple from Idaho.
“And foreigners are a big part of the people I cater to,” he said, estimating that nearly half of his clientele in New Orleans are from out of the United States.
Weinstein will be purchasing the building and hopes to close by the end of June. He envisions using the six upstairs rooms in the former boarding house as a mix of shared and private rooms. He believes capacity will be around 27 guests.
While Weinstein admits “hostel” is a scary word for some, he says his lodging features “a lot more one-on-one and concierge style” for the budget-conscious crowd who are seeking “atmosphere and social interaction with their fellow travelers.”
Commissioner Ken Murphey said he believes the hostel will bring more people downtown and applauded the move, as did Mayor Chuck Espy.
Madidi, which was owned by former mayor Bill Luckett and actor Morgan Freeman, closed in February 2012 after being open for 11 years.
