It was just three years ago that Hurricane Katrina ravaged the Gulf Coast destroying the dreams of many local business owners and forcing the French Quarter to essentially start from scratch.

But as Hurricane Gustav begins along a path that could eventually lead back to New Orleans, business owners aren’t running scared.

“It’s all about preparation,” said Adrienne Thomas, public relations and marketing manager for the New Orleans Steamboat Company. “We learned a lot during Katrina.”

Thomas said the steamboat company has almost returned to pre-Katrina business levels, but doesn’t think Gustav could possibly have a similar impact.

She feels her company and other businesses around town feel much more confident that they can withstand a major storm because of all the planning they went through after Katrina hit town.

“You don’t know what you’re in for until you’ve seen the worst,” she said. “We’ve been there.”

The New Orleans Steamboat Company operates the Natchez steamboat, one of the jewels of the city. Depending on the weather situation, the company can move the boat upstream to Baton Rouge, as they did days prior to Katrina.

Luckily for businesses, the Labor Day holiday weekend is not a huge tourist attraction, given that it’s the end of summer and school starts Tuesday. However, many businesses were looking forward to a spike in business from the popular Southern Decadence Festival. The news of severe weather will likely dampen the excitement.

Southern Decadence organizers do seem to be well aware of the potential threat.

“The entire Gulf Coast from Texas to Florida is keeping a watchful eye on Gustav,” reads a red banner on the front page of the Southern Decadence Web site.

“It’s long-term track and landfall location are very uncertain at this time. There are no plans for the cancellation of any Southern Decadence events.”