It's New Orleans: Out To Lunch

Green used to be just a color. Now it's a way of life. Everything from household trash to billion dollar industrial plants can be green meaning we undertake an activity mindful of the impact we're having on our environment. We use the word green because it's the most ubiquitous color in nature. In cities we've coined a term for urban nature Green Space. In New Orleans we have one of the oldest and biggest green spaces in the country. It's home to an 800 year old oak tree. A carousel. A sculpture garden. A farm. Festival grounds. And much more. You'd think we'd come up with a grander name for such a grand domain but we simply call it, City Park. John Hopper, Chief Development Officer and Public Affairs Director of City Park, joins Peter on today s Out to Lunch. One of the earliest elements of the green movement was recycling. Which is typically plastic, paper and glass. In New Orleans we also recycle houses. And paint. At The Green Project you can get paint that was otherwise headed for the dump, and almost an

Just when you think there s nothing new under the sun, along comes Lisa McKenzie and Oohla Bra, her NOLA company that turns underwear into outerwear. Oohla Bra has over 65 designer bra straps strings of pearls, beads, and sparkling delights that switch places with the regular strap on your convertible or strapless bra, transforming your everyday bra strap into a work of art. Lisa s sparkling straps are in more than 300 stores nationwide and on the shoulders of women all over the country. From our brief survey at Commander s Palace over lunch, every woman who sees one wants one. Even the chef at Commander s was enchanted and couldn t keep his hands off Lisa s bra strap. As an Out to Lunch listener you get 20 off a bra strap by entering the code "Out To Lunch" when you check out at OOhla Bra. Stirling Barrett is undaunted by the dark glasses overlords that are Rayban, Persol and Sunglass Hut. In defiance of mass production and marketing, Stirling, a visual artist, founded Krewe du Optic, a New Orleans sunglass

If you spend any time driving, you probably know the name Lamar. You ve no doubt seen it on a billboard. But Lamar is not a product it's the name of the company that owns the billboard. In fact Lamar owns more interstate billboards and outdoor advertising than just about anybody in America. And they re based in Baton Rouge. The CEO of Lamar Advertising, Sean Reilly, is Peter s guest on Out to Lunch. So is Susan Taylor. Susan has some outdoor artworks too. They're in the Besthoff Sculpture Garden. Susan is the Director of the New Orleans Museum of Art. The New Orleans Museum of Art is a public gallery supported by public and private donors, and billboards are privately owned works of art in public spaces. This is a unique conversation about the intersection if you'll pardon the pun of highbrow art and highway art. In the You Heard It Here First segment of the show Peter talks to the Muhammad Yunus of New Orleans, Haley Burns, founder of Fund 17. Haley pitches Peter and his guests on her local micro funding sta

In business, as in everything else, each generation finds a way to separate itself from the past. One of the interesting current generational shifts is the use of new technology to adapt and carry forward skills developed by previous generations. This group of folks call themselves Makers. Eric Bernstein is a local proponent of the Maker movement and founder of a company called Werkly. And on this show Peter welcomes back one of the grandfathers of the New Orleans economic boom, CEO of the Idea Village, Tim Williamson. It says something about the speed of change in New Orleans that we can call Tim a grandfather. In real life Tim's a young guy with a kid barely in elementary school, but Eric Bernstein and others like him are the second wave of entrepreneurs born out of the innovative business environment fostered by The Idea Village. In the You Heard It Here First segment, Domenic Giunta pitches his DIY manufacturing revolution, IDIYA. You can hear a longer conversation with Domenic, Peter, Tim and Eric andout

One of the questions people in the business community have been asking is, What's happens when the post Katrina economic rejuvenation gets old Are the next generation of innovators going to go someplace else Peter s guests on today's show answer that question with a resounding no. They both head up new and growing businesses that have been born out of New Orleans' revolution in education. Libby Fischer is CEO of Whetstone Education, a ground breaking teacher evaluation system founded in New Orleans and spreading across the country. Cherie Melancon Franz is the founder of Thinkerella, a new approach to teaching science, technology, arts and math to elementary and middle school kids . In the You Heard It Here First segment of the show Ashley Bowen introduces 9 Volt Kids. Hear a longer discussion about 9 Violt kids with Ashley, Libby, Cherie, and Peter here.

If you've ever been in business, or been employed by a company of more than 3 people, you'll know that one of the hallmarks of every organization is well, organization. The best laid plans of small companies and big corporations can easily get lost in the mess of daily duties and decisions. Being able to identify and execute your intentions clearly is a vital part of any successful business. Virginia Barkley has a company called Let's Get It Straight that specializes in straightening out other companies. Virginia's been featured on TV and in print across the country, and she's the author of the book Clutter Busting for Busy Women which was a 1 Bestseller on Amazon.com. Stasia Cymes is also in the clutter business. Stasia's company, Clear The Clutter, works on a personal level, in your home. There's a lot more to what Stasia does than just tidy up your messy room. Stasia's holistic approach to organizing earned her company the Chamber of Commerce award for Innovator of the Year. In the Remember, You Heard It H

New Orleans is a beautiful city. But very little of that beauty is natural. Even our magnificent parks and tree lined avenues are planned and planted. Mostly, when we talk about the beauty of New Orleans, we're talking about buildings. Almost every commercial building has some sort of art work on it. We don't typically refer to it as art we more often call it a sign and many commercial buildings have branding art work inside too. Peter Ricchiuti s guests on Out to Lunch are responsible for some of the city's notable pieces of graphic art. Arthur Boisfontaine is Managing Partner of Crystal Clear Imaging. Crystal Clear's art is all around New Orleans, including the Superdome. Mimi Levine is the founder of Mondo Murals and Designs. Mondo's building art is all over town too, some pieces covering entire walls.Like most industries and like most art, the commercial art industry is more complex than it looks. Photos on this page taken at Commander s Palace by Cheryl DalPozzal.

Now that the Katrina darkened footlights are back on at the Saenger, the Mahalia Jackson and the Civic, theater is big business in New Orleans. Peter s guests on out to Lunch are two of the people who brought these theaters back to life and who operate them. Bryan Bailey is co owner and Managing Partner of the Civic Theater. David Skinner is General Manager of the Saenger and the Mahalia Jackson theaters. After millions of dollars worth of renovations, the Saenger, Mahalia Jackson, and Civic theaters are now hosting a multitude of productions from touring Broadway plays to rock concerts and thousands of New Orleanians are discovering them, many for the first time. David And Bryan tell Peter about the very different routes that got them into the theater business and discuss the common issues they have in encouraging performers to include New Orleans in their touring schedule. In this show we get a glimpse behind the scenes at the business of live theater.

There are a number of New Orleans businesses that are as much a part of the unique vocabulary of New Orleanians as muffuletta and poboy. Some of them like KandB and Schwegmans are in the aint dere no more category. One New Orleans institution that is still here is what we call either Oxner or Oshner. However you say it, everybody in New Orleans knows what you mean. Its real title is Ochsner Health System. Ochsner is one of the largest independent academic health systems in the United States with 12 hospitals, more than 40 health centers, over 15,000 employees. The President and CEO of the company, Warner Thomas, joins Peter on this edition of Out to Lunch. Another local medical institution you may have heard of is the New Orleans Bio District. The Bio District was created in 2005 to develop businesses connected to bioscience and encourage them to start up or relocate to New Orleans. Peter s also lunching today with the Bio District's Chairman and Xavier University's Senior Vice President for Resource Developm

If you live in New Orleans you're familiar with this scenario You're having a perfectly normal day when suddenly you groan, Oh noooo. You re not watching the Saints' defense, it s that other sinking feeling you get as a New Orleanian when the power goes off. Today on Out to lunch Peter takes a look at the other 364 days, 23 hours in the life of New Orleans' Fortune 500 company, Entergy, with Mark Kleehammer, Entergy's Vice President of Business Development Services. Peter s other guest is associated with a more joyful but no less familiar New Orleans institution peeled shrimp. If it wasn't for Jay Lapeyre, and his dad, we'd all be peeling our own shrimp. Jay is President of Laitrim the inventors and manufacturers of the shrimp peeling machine, and they own over 570 other patents. In the You Heard It Here First segment of the show, Peter introduces entrepreneur Henry duQuesnay and his new business iGardenX. A longer conversation with Henry and Peter s guests can be heard here. The photos on this page were take

In New Orleans we have an uneasy relationship with progress. We want to grow, but not like Atlanta. Or Houston. Or Austin. Or pretty much any economically successful Southern city. One of the battlegrounds where we fight to retain our local identity and accommodate a changing economy is The French Market. A glance at the French Market's website summarizes the city's conflict 3 centuries of history. 6 blocks of shopping. The person charged with keeping the country's oldest market true to 3 centuries of history and keeping 6 blocks of stores busy 7 days a week is French Market Executive Director, Jon Smith. One of the most obvious changes to the New Orleans economy is our new role as one of the world's biggest centers of film production. Along with making movies we're also growing a reputation for marketing movies. The New Orleans Film Festival is in its 25th year, but its only recently that it's gone from being a locals only celebration of indie cinema to a showcase that established filmmakers compete to get i

Hansel Harlan minces up nutria and feeds em to the dogs as super healthy Marsh Dog biscuits, treats, and jerky. Arthur Matherne zips around the swamp on an airboat, occasionally with superstars and sometimes shooting alligators.

If you grew up in New Orleans there's two things you learned early on where to make groceries, and how to make red beans. If you moved here as an adult it doesn't take long to find a favorite grocery store but making beans is a little more difficult. Maybe you secretly buy canned beans. If you do, you're not alone. Locals do it too. They've been doing it since 1950. That's when the canning company now called Blue Runner started up. Richard Thomas, President of Blue Runner Foods, is Peter s guest on Out to Lunch today. Peter s other guest represents an equally non traditional option for grocery shopping. Pamela Senatore is Marketing Manager of the local Costco. Costco is definitely not how your mom'n'em made groceries. In the You Heard It Here First segment of the show Jonathan Howes pitches his entrepreneurial startup, Round 1. Hear a fuller conversation about Round 1 with Jonathan, Peter and the show s guests, here. The photos on this page were taken at Commander s Palace by Cheryl DalPozzal.

Over the last few years the word disrupt has found its way into the American business vocabulary. Disruption occurs when a new company with a new way of doing things changes business as usual. Amazon, for example, has disrupted retail. Disrupt does not necessarily mean destroy. Amazon has hurt some brick and mortar stores, but it's also given countless small suppliers access to large markets, and put most of America on first name terms with their UPS driver. On today s Out to Lunch, Peter Ricchiuti introduces us to two local disrupters. Tom Hayes is New Orleans General Manager of Uber. Uber is an international and nationwide car service that disrupts the taxi business which it is in the process of doing here in New Orleans. Steve Beatty is Editor of The Lens. The Lens is an investigative reporting organization that is disrupting local news media. You'd think the New Orleans newspaper world was disrupted enough already. The Times Picayune changed the whole concept of the daily paper by going to 3 days a week w

In the New Orleans entrepreneurial community there's a conversation that comes up fairly regularly. It's speculation about who's going to be the first company in the new wave of startups to break out. To hit the big time. To be our version of Google, Facebook, or Twitter. One of the company names that surfaces near the top of everybody's list is Federated Sample. Another is 365 Connect. There's a fair chance you're saying to yourself I've never heard of either of them. As you re about to find out in this episode of Out to Lunch, Federated Sample is one of New Orleans' fastest growing companies. And 365 Connect is picking up more international awards than Brad Pitt. What do the companies actually do In the case of Federated Sample, it s super specialized statistical sampling that happen to be super important if you have a business, a service, or want to get elected and would like to know what people make of you. Patrick Comer is the co founder and CEO of Federated Sample. Kerry Kirby heads up 365 Connect. They

New Orleans is one of the country's most popular tourist destinations. There is no specific reason there's no amusement park or beach but like other great cities Paris, Manhattan people come here to spend time just living like we do. Ironically, we herd them into the French Quarter and down Bourbon Street which locals mostly avoid, put them on buggy rides, ghost tours and swamp tours that locals never go on, and they eat in restaurants that most of us can only afford on special occasions. Tourists go home declaring New Orleans is a wonderful city but they could never live here cause they'd put on a hundred pounds and be drunk every night. Making that experience the greatest week ever for around 9 million tourists a year is not the only task of the New Orleans Tourism Marketing Corporation, but it does drag a good portion of the 6 billion dollars in annual hospitality spending into the local economy. The President and CEO of the New Orleans Tourism Marketing Corporation is Mark Romig. Mark joins Peter on this

A few years ago, for most of us start up was a verb it was something you did to a car. These days it's a noun. A startup is a new business, typically based on a new and untested idea. One of the toughest things about a startup, the noun, is the verb starting it up. The main obstacles are figuring out the best way to go about it, and how to pay for it. One place startups turn to to start up is an Angel Investor. Having an Angel Investor is kind of like having a successful uncle who believes in you enough to give you some capital and guidance. Mike Eckert is Vice Chairman of the nationwide Angel Capital Association and chairman of the local NO LA Angel Network. Mike has had some experience in starting up companies. Among them he started The Weather Channel, and was its CEO for 14 years. If you've already got a business and you'd like to grow it, Knud Brthelsen s company Connect and Trade can show you how. Knud can tell you, as he says in the title of his new book, How New Technology lets Anyone Market and Sell

Human beings love doing things in groups. It starts off with fun birthday parties when we're kids, and goes all the way to desperate attempts to have fun at conferences which is why so many of them come to New Orleans. While folks are here at a conference, Teddy Nathan's company, Cresecent City Connections, rounds them up and puts them to work volunteering for local non profits. Frank Scurlock is at the kids' birthday party end of group fun. Frank s family company invented Space Walk aka the Bouncy Castle that can be found at kids birthday parties worldwide courtesy of the Scurlock family s 200 international outposts. Frank s more recent solo ventures make the bouncy castle look like, well, childs play. With his company The T Minus Group Frank is planning a theme park in the location of the defunct Five Flags and along with it a major redevelopment of large tracts of the East that will include hotels, a water park and much more. It s a vision that not so much rivals Disneyland as is openly inspired by it. Wit

Self styled "Emperor of the Universe" entertainer Ernie K Doe used to say that besides New Orleans being the birthplace of jazz, he was pretty sure everything came from New Orleans. When you tell people that grocery giant Whole Foods started here in New Orleans on Esplanade Avenue you generally get the same response you d expect k Doe would have gotten with his wild claim. To support the Whole Foods creation story we get to hear it today first hand from one of its creators. John Elstrott was there on day one and today he is Chairman of Whole Foods Market. John tells Peter Ricchiuti the fascinating tale of the birth of the health food giant and the equally fascinating tales of what s ahead. Peter s other lunch guest today is also on track to become the stuff legends are made of. Michael Hecht is CEO of GNO Inc. In this role and in his previous tour of duty in post Katrina State Government in Baton Rouge, Michael Hecht is one of the most significant architects of Louisiana s recovery and New Orleans sensational