07:42 AM CST on Tuesday, January 3, 2006

Bill Capo / WWL-TV News Reporter

Four months after Hurricane Katrina changed the landscape of New Orleans, St. Claude Avenue is still a disaster zone, except for Mark's Muffler Shop, where the roar of the generator providing electricity marks the location of what could be the first business to reopen in the heavily flood-damaged Lower Ninth Ward.

"It's spooky. When I get here in the morning, the first hour or so, it's like a ghost town,” said Mark Brink, owner of Mark’s Muffler Shop.

Brink cleaned up the damage caused by eight-feet of flood water, and reopened in December. Customers were surprised to see him, but glad. He said he's been busy, but doesn't know how long that will last in the coming year.

“I think I'm gonna be busy for a while, but after the bad FEMA money is gone, it’s gonna be a little iffy,” Brink said. “But I think I'll be good, because I've been here 21 years.”

Downtown on St. Charles Avenue, there was brisk business as Meyer the Hatter began the 112th year in operation.

“We had the most fabulous December in the history of the store,” said Sam Meyer, store owner. “People were buying hats and caps from us because they would come in and say, ‘I lost everything, all I have is what I have on.”

But a few feet away on Canal Street, the streetcars clanged past some stores that continue to stay closed and boarded up. The coming year could see changes along the famed retail street.

"It’s gonna be quite a challenge because this is unprecedented. I think we just have to get our local residents back, and get the people who live in the suburbs to shop downtown and the French Quarter, and of course, if we could get the tourist back to visit us it would be terrific,” said Paul Meyer of Meyer the Hatter.

In the Carrollton area, many businesses remain shuttered, stained by high water marks. But at Helm Paint, which reopened in October, plans were still in the works to build a new store across the street.

“Business is good. It's coming back slowly but surely, but we feel like it is strong,” said store owner Jim Helm. “We feel good about what's going on. We feel good about 2006."

On Magazine Street, a warm, sunny Monday brought out the shoppers. The Magazine Merchants Association reported about ten stores had closed forever, but about the same number of new ones opened.

They said the support of people throughout the area helped them have a prosperous holiday season, and hoped that support continues in the coming year.

"We are concerned, we do depend a lot on local trade, and there's still a lot of areas in the city that are not back,” said Roxanne Candebat, Magazine Merchant’s Association. “We're seeing a lot more for sale signs on houses.

So while there's concern, cautious optimism has emerged among the small business owners in New Orleans that they'll not only survive in 2006, but also find this year to be profitable. But business owners said they agree with estimates that it will take several years for the city to recover from the impact of Katrina.