It's New Orleans: Out to Lunch

There are very few things that you pay for every month, and hope that you get nothing back for your money. Except insurance. Nobody enjoys paying their insurance premium. But you know your insurance agent is right. You need it. Which is where the old classic Frank Crumit song comes from, "There is no one with endurance like the man who sells insurance." If you don t know that song it s worth click...

According to government statistics, about 30 million Americans are under 5 years old. That s a big market. But even in today s generation of accelerated development, it takes a while before kids want to buy stuff. But little kids sure like to do stuff. Peter s guests on Out to Lunch have businesses whose clients are little kids who like to do stuff. Stuff like big kids do. Or even adults. Bella Br...

In the 1600 s, Galileo discovered that the Earth was not the center of the universe. Until then, we thought everything revolved around us. There are still people who believe the universe revolves around New Orleans. It s Caitlin Cain s job to convince anyone who does not believe it, that it s true. Caitlin is the CEO of the World Trade Center of New Orleans. Just as an aside there is proof that we...

People often compare business strategy to combat, and sports. In sports, we grow up learning it s the game that counts winning isn t everything. Which is true, unless you ve got money on the game. It s not always legal to bet on the outcome of games. But Zach Dixon has found a way. Zach is the co founder of Players Lounge a real and virtual place where you can bet on the outcome of video and compu...

The difference between successful people and the rest of us is that when successful people have an idea they don t just say "Wouldn t it be great if somebody did X, Y or Z," they do it. Like Sidney Torres IV.. While most of us complained for years about the putrid smell in the French Quarter, Sidney started a sanitation company and cleaned it up. While we re all complaining about crime, Sidney has...

In the past 12 months, Americans have spent over 60 billion dollars on their pets. Almost half of that, 30 billion dollars, was spent on food. If you re a dog owner, or if you ve been in a pet store lately, you know that we don t feed dogs a 45 pound bag of 3 dog chow any more. The dog food section of the pet store these days looks more like Whole Foods. Words that have never before been associate...

When we talk about "the New Orleans business community" we generally have a mental picture of the CBD. We might include spokes that poke out from that center a few miles the Marigny, Mid City, and Uptown. If we re particularly expansive we might even talk about "the metro area" as a way to include Metairie and the North Shore. On this edition of Out to Lunch we re pushing the business boundary out...

Typically, nationwide businesses start out in a big city where there s a big market. As the brand grows and demand grows with it, the business gradually spreads across the country to ever smaller markets until eventually everybody s within a few miles of, say, a Walgreens. There are notable exceptions to this pattern. For example the largest retailer on Earth, WalMart, started out as a single stor...

We have a nationwide opioid epidemic. We consume a huge amount of alcohol. There s a trend toward legalizing marijuana. And over 10 of us are prescribed mood altering medication. These are all attempts at coping with life. Another approach to making life more bearable is to spend more time focusing on the good parts. That s what my guests today on Out to Lunch do. Tippy Tippens is the CEO of a com...

Despite having a Constitution and any number of Federal statutes that guarantee us all equality, there still seem to be plenty of creative ways for employers to discriminate against women. On Out to Lunch we don t normally talk about big issues. We talk about small business. On this edition of the show we can do both Lelia Gowland s small business, Gowland Llc, deals with the big issues of women i...

There are certain things we all do. We all buy food. And when we do, we take for granted that supermarket shelves are going to be stocked. We all watch TV and movies though these days mostly on a small screen. And when we do other than certain types of film we take for granted that actors are going to be clothed. But food doesn t magically appear on supermarket shelves. And clothes don t magically...

If you use a calendar on your phone you re familiar with that terrible moment when you re staring at it in disbelief because you ve totally missed a meeting, a lunch, or even a flight. You could swear you put it in your calendar but it s not there. That, and the endless snafus that occur when you share calendars, will allegedly never happen again if you use a new app called FollowMyCal. The creato...

In some businesses, like the tech industry, there are regular revolutionary developments that change everything. In other businesses, change is more subtle. Take, for example, the frozen confection industry. Or the jewelry and fashion business. A new taste in ice cream on a stick, or a new design of a ring or handbag might not be as big of a deal as the advent of Uber, but if you re the person eat...

What do you think of when you hear the word "prairie " Wide open spaces Grasses blowing in the dry, warm wind Off on the horizon, cattle being driven over the ridge by cowboys Doesn t sound much like Louisiana does it It would, if most of our grassland was still intact. The fact is, Louisiana prairies are just as vital and just as threatened as their better known cousins, the wetlands. Marc Pastor...

If you live on the south shore of New Orleans you tend to think of the north shore as a place across the lake that there s no compelling reason to visit. People on the north shore will give you a list of reasons to drive across the causeway. One of the names on that list is Acquistapace s. It s easiest to describe Acquistapace s as a supermarket, but that doesn t do it justice. For starters about...

For most of human civilization we have lived with pain. Some of it is healthy in as much as it teaches us a lesson and keeps us away from danger in future but a lot of pain is debilitating. That s the reason some of the most popular medications we use are pain medications. From the ubiquitous Tylenol and Advil which you can buy at the convenience store, to the more sophisticated, prescription only...

There are times in your life when things go right. Whether it s good luck, good timing, or good management, you just need to celebrate. The simplest way to do that is to throw a party. A few drinks, some food, the right people and to top it all off some helium balloons with racy adult sayings guaranteed to make everybody laugh. Where would you get helium balloons with racy adult sayings from The a...

There s an old saying you can never be too rich or too thin. In New Orleans you might add, "And you can never produce too much alcohol." If you think there are more small craft breweries and distilleries here than ever before, well, you d be wrong. A hundred years ago there were many more. We ve been in a bit of a slump, but we re coming back. On this edition of Out to Lunch, Peter Ricchiuti meets...

After Hurricane Katrina pushed the reset button on New Orleans, some commercial streets have come roaring back. Others remain decimated. And then there s Claiborne Avenue. Despite drainage repairs and beautification, the street remains a mismatched mix of new development and old New Orleans. A combination of both these elements can be found at Le Boxeur gym. It s a new business that s an old schoo...

Here s a business decision to ponder. Suppose on any given night there s 10,000 people listening to music in New Orleans. If you open a new music venue, will 10 of those people come to your place Or do you have to offer something different that will attract a new audience That s one of the issues facing the newly reopened Carver Theater in Treme. The Carver s General Manager, Chris Ritter, joins P...

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We talk a lot on this show about how the New Orleans economy is changing. Entrepreneurs are starting up companies that do everything from build apps to 3D printers. Meanwhile, our traditional industries of hospitality and tourism are rolling right along on a parallel track. On this edition of Out to Lunch Peter s talking about a couple of unusual points where the tracks cross, with tourism entrepr...

Just 135 miles apart, a 2 hour sprint on the interstate or a scenic ramble on the 90, New Orleans and Lafayette are two of America s most culturally interesting cities. Economically, though, they re different. New Orleans is booming and growing while Lafayette is facing headwinds from a depressed oil economy and the continuing after effects of floods that are combining to limit opportunity. Given...

Peter Ricchiuti leaves his regular table at Commander s Palace in the Garden District and travels downtown to the Arts District. He s set up shop at the Contemporary Arts Center where art is taking a back seat to business. This is the current home of the Idea Village s annual bridge between Mardi Gras and Jazz Fest a party that s come to be known as NOEW pronounced "no wee" an acronym for New Orle...

The good news is, you ve got Google. So if you want, in the next couple of minutes, you can look up the word "polymer." P O L Y M E R. When you do, you probably won t be much wiser about what a polymer is, and guaranteed you won t be able to figure out what "polymer monitoring" might be. All you need to know is, it s a big deal and without it you wouldn t listening to this on your phone, computer,...