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...

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 strap...

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 Lunc...

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...

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 Fi...

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. Virgi...

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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 h...

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 t...

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...

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...

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...

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. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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...

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...

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...

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 n...

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 A...

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...

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 Foo...

The vacuum created when NASA left the Michoud facility in New Orleans East has been filled by a range of new, innovative aero space and robotic manufacturers. Among them, Crescent Unmanned Systems and NVision Solutions. Charles Easterling, co founder and CEO of Crescent Unmanned Sytems, came to lunch with his Google Glass. While you re doing whatever it is you do on a regular day, right off of the...

Do you diet and exercise but don t lose weight Those days are over. And how about this for an idea going to the doctor and getting medication that works just right the first time. New Orleans DNA research companies Renaissance RX and GenoVive are changing our concept of dieting and of medication. GenoVive founder Victor Castellon joins Peter Ricchiuti on Out to Lunch to explain how specific DNA ba...

Cam Marston tells a great story that illustrates how our attitudes to parenting have changed today babies are brought home from the hospital strapped down in a rear facing car seat in the back seat of a car. In the previous generation babies were carried in mom s lap in the front seat while mom wore no seat belt and smoked a cigarette. Cam is an authority on the relationships between generations a...

Sure, we all know New Orleans business is doing better than it ever has, but in your wildest imaginings of exactly what that means it s unlikely you ve had any idea that "they sky s the limit" has in the last few years gone from being a visionary fantasy to an aerospace reality. While many of us are still evoking the credentials of being the birthplace of jazz and the cocktail, two extraordinary l...

New Orleans is celebrated across the country and around the world as a center of extraordinary live entertainment. Not just in the French Quarter but all over the city there's a vast amount of live music, theater, and comedy every night of the year. However, on the inside of what appears to be a thriving local entertainment industry you frequently hear the same criticism we have a lot of entertain...