It's New Orleans: Out To Lunch

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 creator of FollowMyCal, Richard Carthon, joins Peter Ricchiuti on this edition of Out to Lunch. These days, when you hear about a great idea like FollwMyCal, you are no longer surprised that super smart people live in New Orleans. But one of the knocks against the local entrepreneurial ecosystem has been that there is no investment money here to fund all these great ideas. To rectify that, and to prevent our brain gain turning into a brain drain, local investment funds have been starting up. The New Orleans Startup Fund was established by a number of well known business and financial leaders. The fund leverages local and s

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 eating the ice cream or making the fashion statement, it can make you just as happy. Ashley Porter is owner of Porter Lyons, which is both a design company and a store on Toulouse Street in the Quarter. And Ashley is both a business grad and a jewelry and accessory designer whose design are sold across the country and worn by the likes of Taylor Swift and Cameron Diaz. Adrian Simpson is co creator of the new frozen treat, Caf Bar, which combines his company New Orleans Ice Cream with local icon CoolBrew. The new company, American Cold Brew, produces a variety of popsicle style icecream treats that are real quality ice c

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 Pastorek spends a great deal of his professional life managing wild and restored land. Marc joins Peter Ricchiuti for lunch today. Myron Katz is also in the business of saving, specifically, electricity. Myron s latest innovation is called the Customer Lowered Electricity Price, which will allegedly lower your electricity bill. The rest of Myron s day is spent with his architectural consultancy company, Building Science Innovators. But wait, there s more. A lower electricity bill and a wild prairie. All on this edition of Out to Lunch. Photos at Commander s Palace by Alison Moon.

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 40 of it is a wine store. It has a gigantic cheese selection. And much more. The Acquistapace family is a part of the Schwegman family. Schwegman s went on to dominate the New Orleans grocery market and the Acquistipace s moved North and conquered the north shore. All in all, the Schwegman and Acqitipace family have been selling groceries in New Orleans for 150 years. Adam Acquitipace is the the current steward of the family business. Adam and his brother have two stores, one in Mandeville and the other in Covington, that specialize in wine and cheese as well as everyday groceries. Jacob Landry has a newer business.

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 pills, which we have come to know as "opioids." The reason we know the word "opioid" is that we hear it on the news, increasingly from politicians. They talk about "the opioid epidemic" that is reportedly sweeping some parts of the country. Here in New Orleans, most of us rate crime and murder as our number one problem. So it might surprise you to know that in 2016, for the first time in the history of the city, there were more accidental drug related deaths in New Orleans than murders. In other words, the opioid epidemic is here in New Orleans too. Peter s guests on Out to Lunch today are on the front line of treat

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 answer is the specialty adult balloon company, Badass Balloon Co And guess what It s right here in New Orleans. Desiree Ontiveros, the founder of Badass Balloon Co, joins Peter Ricchiuti on this edition of Out to Lunch. When things go really right, you can take an exotic, luxury vacation. For that you can call on Peter s other lunch guest today, Keely Crowder. Keely has a luxury travel agency called Travel Like A Diva. Both Keely and Desiree turned their backs on traditional occupations to start up their businesses. Are they having fun yet The next time you think every great idea has been thought of and there s nothin

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 local craft brewer Mark Logan from Second Line Brewing and local craft distiller Gus Haik from Cajun Spirits Distillery. By all kinds of standards Second Line may make better beer than Budweiser, and Cajun Spirits may make better rum than Bacardi, but those big guys are the reason all the small companies disappeared. And they are still who our local guys have to market against. How do you win on a playing field like that Gus and Mark spell it out. It ain t for the faint of heart or the lover of the straight 9 5 life, that s for sure. Photos at Commander s Palace by Alison Moon.

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 school boxing gym. And the home of a new invention called The Flex Mitt that is changing how fighters train across the country. Matt Nussbaum is a recovering economist, a born again boxing trainer trainer, manager of Le Boxeur gym, and inventor of The Flex Mitt. Barrett Cooper is COO of New Orleans company, ERG Enterprises. You may not know the company but you definitely know its half a billion dollars worth of investments from the Windsor Court Hotel downtown to Tipitina s uptown. And you might have seen the Hollywood movies they ve financed. Photos in the wine room at Commander s Palace by Alison Moon.

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 Peter Ricchiuti for lunch. Scott Aiges is Program Director, and Director of Marketing and Communications at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Foundation the folks who own Jazz Fest. The foundation does a lot more than just Jazz Fest. They stage other festivals, like the Blues and Barbecue Festival and the Cajun and Zydeco Festival. They run music oriented community programs, and even have a music school. While other parts of the music business continue to struggle, live music keeps on rockin on. Meet two of the guys who bring the world New Orleans music. Photos at Commander s Palace by Alison Moon.

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 entrepreneurs Rupa Mohan and Chris Rose. If you ve lived in New Orleans for a while, yes, it s the same Chris Rose one of the city s finest writers and raconteurs with his newest venture, the Magical Musical Mystery History tour. Rupa Mohan flies in the face of tourist tradition with her company, The Sweat Social. Rupa brings tourists together to do things like run, kick box, and Pilates. It s the New Orleans tourist road less traveled on today s Out to Lunch. Photos at Commander s Palace by Alison Moon.

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 this situation, it would seem to be an unlikely time to expand a New Orleans business into Lafayette. But that s what two prominent local companies are doing. The iconic Rock n Bowl and the gourmet hot dog sensation Dat Dog are both opening locations in Lafayette. Johnny Blancher from Rockn n Bowl and Constantine Georges from Dat Dog shed some light on their logic over lunch with Peter Ricchiuti. Lafayette is no stranger to parties but with these two businesses at either end of Jefferson, both with music venues, look for the New Orleans imports to be a big part of the revival of downtown. Photos at Commander s Palace

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 Orleans Entrepreneur Week. NOEW is an annual business festival celebrating entrepreneurship, innovation, and new thinking in New Orleans. As has become customary, Peter meets some of the more notable party goers. Brendan Anthony Dodd is better known to many New Orleanians as Bagel Boy. Brendan s company, Bagel Boy, specializes in delivering fresh bagels to your home or work, wherever you are in New Orleans. Bagel Boy grew out of Brendan s pretty logical idea to quit delivering bagels on his bike for free and to start charging folks for showing up at their house with fresh bagels. Alyson Kilday is the co founder of a comp

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, or in your car because you wouldn t have one. Alex Reed joins Peter Ricchiuti on this edition of Out to Lunch lunch to explain all this. Alex is the President of Advanced Polymer Monitoring Technologies. Rob Warren joins Peter for lunch today too. Rob is another guy with a great idea. This one s a bit easier to understand. It s called Gigsy. It s a company that can do the same thing you can do with your phone take photos. But Rob s company takes it to a new level that turns a loner occupation into a team sport. In entrepreneurial circles you hear the term "thought leaders" thrown around. It s one of those buzzword p

If you re looking for a job, one of the most tedious aspects of the search is constantly refining your resume so it looks appealing to your prospective employer. If you re an employer, one of the most time wasting aspects of searching for the right person is meeting prospective employees and finding out they re not quite as impressive as their resume. Crystal McDonald s New Orleans company, Acrew, is changing all that for both job seekers and employers. The Acrew method of applying for a job does away with the resume. And the first face to face interview. Yes, it s pretty radical. But like Like many revolutionary ideas, it s so simple you wonder why someone didn t think of it years ago. The person who did have the idea, Crystal McDonald, is joining Peter Ricchiuti for lunch on this edition of Out to Lunch. Crystal McDonald gives us a glimpse into the future of employment. Photos at Commander s Palace by Alison Moon.

There are lots periods of stress in our lives. But there are two that are particularly demanding. And they re both regarding children. When you get pregnant, you re very soon made aware of the wide range of things that can go wrong with the development of your baby. Finding out the results of medical tests on your child can relieve your stress, and save the life of your baby. At the BioInnovation Center in New Orleans Dr Sunyoung Kim has developed one of these tests. Her company, Chosen Diagnostics, diagnoses a common and life threatening disease. Dr Kim joins Peter Ricchiuti for lunch on this episode of Out to Lunch. Rebecca Norwood also joins Peter for lunch. Rebecca s company, Little Travelers, relieves a whole other kind of stress traveling with children. The startup company lets people traveling to New Orleans with little kids travel empty handed and rent all the paraphenalia they need when they get here. Photos at Commander s Palace by Alison Moon.

When people say "New Orleans is known for its food" they mostly mean restaurants. From iconic places like Commander s, to your favorite hole in the wall poboy joint. What we are less known for in New Orleans is healthy food. But like so much else here, that s changing. One of the reasons for that change is a company called Supereats. At Supereats they make what they call "snacks with a purpose." Healthy snack food might sound like an oxymoron, but SuperEats is a successful young company who s CEO, Aaron Gailmor, joinis Peter Ricchiuti for lunch. P When we last met Megan Nuismer Herrington she was the founder of the New Orleans Fruit Tree Project. They harvest fruit from trees that produce more than the tree owner can eat and distribute it to folks who don t have access to fruit trees. Now Megan is doing the same kind of thing on a bigger scale, with Second Harvest Food Bank. Photos at Commander s Palace by Alison Moon.

There are not many subjects that everybody is an expert on. But healthcare is one of them. Many people s opinions about how healthcare should be provided are formed as a result of interactions with the healthcare system that have involved large sums of money and had less than optimum outcomes. On this edition of Out to Lunch Peter Ricchiuti is talking with two experts about the healthcare system as we know it, and as we might see it evolve in the near futureperts. Dr. Steven Udvarhelyi, known far and wide as simply "Dr. Steve," is President and CEO of Blue Cross Blue Shield Louisiana. Blaine Lindsey is Executive Director and Chairman of a new kind of patient centered healthcare company, an Accountable Care Organization, called Aledade Louisiana. We all know healthcare is changing it always seems to be changing but it s changing in surprising directions most of us know little or nothing about. If you d like to back up your opinions with some facts about healthcare this is a great conversation to listen in on.

If you re on Facebook, you see photos of yourself pop up from two, three, or ten years ago. Even though they re photos that you posted, you still get a surprise to see what you looked like and what you were doing just a few years ago. If we took snapshots of our work environment we might feel the same way. The way we work is constantly evolving. Peter s guests on this edition of Out to Lunch represent two snapshots of where we are as a workforce. Mike Perry is taking the New Orleans way of life and folding it into a way to work with an enterprise that s part business incubator and part Mardi Gras Krewe, called The Mystic Krewe of the Silver Ball. Erin Wilson is Operations Manager of a co working space called The Warehouse that s helping re define what it means to go to work. Peter, Erin and Mike are taking a unique look at the way we live and work on today s Out to Lunch. Photos at Commander s Palace by Alison Moon.