It's New Orleans: Out to Lunch

There's an old saying about how to be successful in business Build a better mousetrap. Meaning find a product everybody wants and do it better. Peter s guests on Out to Lunch today have come up with new variations of products that enjoy massive worldwide popularity. Soft drinks and coffee. Geoffrey Meeker has a little yellow truck you might have seen around town delivering his French Truck Coffee....

For the past few years with all the Hollywood folks in town it's not unusual for someone at Whole Foods in New Orleans to whisper, Do you know who that is See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Everybody likes to think they're important, but here in Louisiana we really are. Two sectors of our local economy are major components of the national, and global, economy oil and gas, and renewable energy. Outside of the oil companies who physically drill for oil, there is a huge industry of companies who do everything else from building oil rigs to delivering groceries to the men and women who w...

The financial markets go up and down. The value of real estate goes up and down. The dollar strengthens and weakens. Financial advisors have a wide range of theories of risk versus diversification that they say can either make you a fortune, or hedge your bets. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In 1814 it was the British who were "runnin down the mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico." Today, ships of almost every nationality are steaming down the river to the Gulf. 54 of them belong to International Shipholding. Their fleet of cargo vessels ply international trade from their current headquarters in Mobile, Alabama but they re set to return soon to their original home in New Orleans. Interna...

Most businesses grow successful over time as their owners find more efficient ways to make and market specific products. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In New Orleans when we talk about "going to the airport" we automatically assume we're talking about Louis Armstrong Airport in Kenner. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Everybody knows right from wrong. Everybody knows numbers don't lie. And nobody wants to spend time in prison. Why, then, would a person lie about corporate profits knowing there's a high probability they're going to get caught and end up behind bars Peter s guest on Out to Lunch wrote the book on business ethics, and it's not theoretical. Aaron Beam went to federal prison for his part in a multi...

If there s one thing we all like, it s being told we're attractive. No matter how rich or poor, powerful or powerless, beautiful or pedestrian we might be there is nobody who doesn't respond positively to, "You look great " You can spend a little or a lot of time and money on your appearance. And when you think you've done everything you can to make yourself look good, you discover there s more yo...

If you re a certain age and you grew up in the South, there were things you were expected to do, under the banner of "etiquette." See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Even with NOLA's roaring tourist biz, oil and gas, and renaissance boom, the Mississippi River is the heart of the city's economy. President and CEO of the [Port of New Orleans][link1] Gary LaGrange and CFO and Treasurer of [Canal Barge][link2] Doug Downing take us behind the floodwall and onto the water. [link1]: http://www.portno.com/ [link2]: http://www.canalbarge.com/ See omnystudio.com/listen...

New Orleans is rising from the debris of 2005 in ways that could never have been predicted, even by the most optimistic of prognosticators. For the first few years of the post 2008 bounce back recovery, New Orleanians were taken by surprise. Accustomed to reading stories of disasters about the city, from natural to man made crime, corruption, shrinking population, disastrous education locals were...

Whether you believe global warming is caused by man or nature, according to NASA, 2014 was earth's hottest year on record. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When people talk about which parts of New Orleans are desirable, you often hear the phrase, "block by block." Meaning, in blighted parts of town there are bright spots. And in the nicer parts of town there are areas that are not so great. Two parts of town that have been commercially block by block are the mostly empty lots around Loyola Avenue near the Superdome, and the largely abandoned Oretha...

No matter which era of recent U.S. history we look back on, we seem to be constantly working on two issues healthcare and education. The debate at the center of these discussions is often financial. Where is Federal or state money for reform going to come from And if reform is privately funded, how are these fundamental requirements distributed equally In Louisiana and especially here in New Orlea...

If you live in New Orleans, you re a part of the music business. Even if you never go to Jazz Fest or Bourbon Street, the revenue generated by music makes up a chunk of our local economy. We re also tied into the empire of the world heavyweight champion of live music, Live Nation, through the local offices of Live Nation Festivals North America. Live Nation s See omnystudio.com/listener for privac...

Every time a new mobile device comes out we can put more stuff on it. These days we don't need to carry a calendar, phone book, yellow pad, book, map, magazine, music player, camera, DVD player, laptop, or even a heart monitor. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

New Orleans neighborhoods aren t like the rest of the country. Where else can you live on an expensive street that has potholes that can swallow a 5 year old. Where the streetlights are out but the traffic cameras work perfectly. And there s a street you're never quite sure what the name is because it's never had a sign. Stepping into this rich tapestry of communities is Neighborlynx, a company th...

When you go to Jazz Fest do you have stuff you have to do Is there one band you have to see or one food item you have to eat For many people that annual treat is Crawfish Monica. It s one of Jazz Fest's most popular dishes. On this edition of Out to Lunch we have crawfish, and Monica. Monica Davidson, the Monica from Crawfish Monica and co owner of Kajun Kettle Foods, joins Peter for lunch. Frank...

There are a lot of people these days claiming how well New Orleans is doing and that in business terms we're now competitive with almost any city in the country. If you'd like proof that this is fact, and not just feel good boosterism, this edition of Out to Lunch might convince you. GE is the 6th largest company in the Fortune 500. They've been quoted as saying New Orleans is becoming the hub of...

If you do your own laundry, you probably think you ve got a small mountain of it if you have four or five loads to throw in the washing machine. There s a family firm in Kenner called Pellerin Milnor who have been making washing machines for nearly 80 years, but you wouldn't buy one for your house. Their machines wash around 7,000 pounds of laundry. An hour. Pellerin Milnor washing machines and dr...

Back in the twentieth century when you wanted to fly somewhere you had two choices you could call the airline and buy a ticket, or you could call a travel agent, who for some magical reason could get you the same ticket for less money. Then along came the online travel site revolution. Now, instead of making a two minute phone call we can spend hours, even days, comparing prices and airline schedu...

A normally functioning human body is something most of us take for granted, until we have personal experience that challenges us. It might be the birth of a child, an accident, or just staying alive long enough to have bits of ourselves wear out. Two of our senses that are susceptible to impairment are hearing and sight. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Most people who start a new business build on what has come before them. Every now and again there are revolutionary game changers, like See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When you launch a new business, you have no way of knowing whether you're going to make a billion dollars, or make a bunch of decisions that add up to little more than a valuable lesson. When a small group of New Orleans guys started hosting pop up foodie dinners in deserted buildings, few could have predicted Dinner Lab would turn out to be a multi million dollar nationwide business. Dinner Lab C...