A restaurant and bar group with deep New Orleans roots is coming home to run the food and drink program at one of the city's newest public spaces. Audubon Nature Institute has selected Crew, the New York-founded hospitality company led by New Orleans natives Alex and Miles Pincus, to operate a waterfront restaurant and bar at Goldring Woldenberg Riverfront Park.
Under the terms of a five-year licensing agreement with Audubon, Crew will develop and run the restaurant and bar, according to nola.com. Audubon describes the planned destination as one that will offer waterfront dining, cocktails, and views of the Mississippi River and the New Orleans skyline, per Audubon's own project page. Per WhatNow New Orleans, the new spot is planned inside the park's pavilion.
Alex and Miles Pincus were born and raised in New Orleans before founding Crew in New York in 2014, the nola.com report notes. The brothers now lead the company, and WhatNow reports they built a national reputation with waterfront projects in New York City before turning their attention back home.
Beating Out the Competition for a Riverfront Spot
Audubon chose Crew over the only other group that submitted a proposal for the site, citing the Pincus brothers' local knowledge along with their track record running waterfront restaurants and bars, the same nola.com report states. The restaurant is planned to offer both walk-up takeout service and sit-down dining, and Crew will also handle private functions and corporate events at the park, per that account. Beyond day-to-day service, Crew will provide food and beverage for festivals and events at the park, according to Audubon.
WhatNow reports Crew will oversee food and beverage service for festivals and events along the riverside park as well, and that the company aims to open the venue in spring 2027. Crew representatives declined to comment to WhatNow New Orleans on the planned timeline.
A Manhattan Blueprint for the Mississippi Riverfront
Alex Pincus has said the vision for the New Orleans venue will most closely resemble Drift In, Crew's existing concept in Manhattan's Hudson River Park, according to nola.com. Crew describes Drift In as an outdoor waterfront hangout in the West Village, featuring sustainable oysters and wild-caught, New England-style seafood. WhatNow adds that the upcoming pavilion venue is expected to draw inspiration from Drift In's sun-drenched space and fresh coastal seafood, with maritime-inspired design and elevated fare planned for the New Orleans location.
Crew already has a foothold in the city with Holywater, a cocktail bar concept open in the French Quarter, according to WhatNow. The Pincus brothers' return to their hometown comes as Audubon continues building out Goldring Woldenberg Riverfront Park, a project that connects the Mississippi River with the French Quarter across 6.2 acres, according to Bloomberg.
The Park's Expanding Footprint Along the River
The park's first phase, which opened in April, spans 2.25 miles from Spanish Plaza at the foot of Canal Street to Crescent Park, per the nola.com report. A subsequent phase was scheduled to open in April 2026 and was expected to provide nearly two and a quarter miles of continuous public access to the river, according to an Audubon Nature Institute newsroom release. The park's next phase is planned for the Esplanade Avenue Wharf and is expected to include more restaurants and other commercial attractions, the nola.com article notes.
Audubon has estimated the park's annual operating and maintenance costs at slightly more than $1 million, and has said the licensing agreement with Crew could help cover those expenses, according to the same report. With Crew now tapped to anchor the pavilion's food and drink offerings, the riverfront park's next chapter is set to lean on a hospitality name with roots on both the Hudson and the Mississippi.
