The latest data says New Orleans is back to 78 percent of its pre-Katrina population of about 480,000. But that’s not just people returning home. There are a lot of new faces around town, including transplants from other parts of the country who admire local traditions like red beans and rice but are also creating some of their own.

T. Cole Newton, 31, went to Louisiana after college from Washington, D.C., to help with Katrina recovery. After working as a bartender in a variety of local restaurants and bars, he wanted to make his mark. He bought a rundown old bar in the Mid-City neighborhood and four years ago opened 12 Mile Limit.

“It had a bullet hole in the window when I found it,” he says. “It wasn’t exactly the fanciest bar in town, but it was in an up-and-coming neighborhood.”

Newton knew about the Monday night tradition of red beans and rice from working at other bars around the city. At first he kept 12 Mile Limit closed on Mondays to give his chef, 30-year-old Chris Shortall, a night off. But a year in, they began offering a Monday night free meal, with one caveat. No red beans and rice, ever.

“That’s the one rule,” says Newton.

Shortall has prepared meals for about 100 people every Monday for the last three years. Sometimes it’s something local, like a crawfish boil. Sometimes it’s Thai food.

Newton says he and Shortall occasionally lose money on Monday nights, as the free-food crowd tends to drink less and tips are smaller. But he’s confident he wins in the long run, converting a few new loyal customers every week by offering something free. “It feels like the right thing to do,” he says. “It feels like we’ve offered this thing and people have come to know it and come to depend on it, to a certain extent.”

There is grumbling around town about gentrification and rent increases, and it’s generally directed at the whiter, younger crowd that tends to frequent newer establishments like 12 Mile Limit. But Horn, once a newcomer himself, says guys like Newton are showing they are willing to fit in and people need to embrace that. “Instead of complaining about the fresh blood that we’ve needed so desperately, you just try to lead by example and show ’em how it’s done.”

Horn says the particulars of his red beans and rice recipe came from Antoinette K-Doe, the wife of Earnie K-Doe, one of New Orleans’ most decorated hitmakers. The couple ran the Mother-in-Law Lounge, named after Earnie K-Doe’s song that hit No. 1 in 1961. Antoinette K-Doe was infamous for keeping the bar open at all hours of the night, and she made sure there were red beans and rice on Mondays too.

“She wasn’t going to share it with you,” says Horn of her recipe. “You learn by watching. You spend some time in the kitchen. You pick it up as fast as you can.”

Horn likes to use local brand Camellia red beans, and his biggest decision is usually whether to add pickled or smoked meat to the mix. “I like smoked. Sometimes I’ll use both. Or I’ll lean toward the pickled meat in the summer when it’s really hot.”