It's not a mirage.

A new Palm Springs-esque pool and restaurant has opened in Uptown, aiming to serve as an oasis for New Orleans locals.

Sunnies opened the last weekend of September at 4917 Freret St. and has since been serving shareable bites, sandwiches and cocktails in a space designed to be a relaxing venue.

Owners Barrett Cooper and Zach Kupperman said they wanted to bring a boutique hotel experience to the Freret Street area. However, zoning didn't allow for it, so they came up with the idea to open a restaurant and bar that has a pool but no hotel rooms.

"Why don't we do everything the boutique hotel makes us excited for, minus the actual hotel room keys?" Cooper said. "Let's deconstruct the hotel, take the keys out, and let's make this the hotel lobby for the community, for t

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