If you think it feels like things are speeding up and change is coming faster than ever, well, you’re right. It took us hundreds of thousands of years to get to a worldwide population of 3 billion. We got there in 1927. From there, it only took about 70 more years – one lifetime – to get to a population of 6 billion.

Back at the 3 billion mark, fewer Americans lived in urban areas. When they needed to shop for necessary supplies they’d talk about “going to town.” “Town” was often a single street. A commercial corridor. A “Main Street.” Here in New Orleans, over the 300 years of our existence we’ve had a number of main streets. Canal Street. Dryades Street. Magazine Street. Recently we’ve added Freret Street.

The current incarnation of Freret street as a commercial district began with the re-birth of New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. One of the first outposts of resurrection was a then audaciously high-end, hip, cocktail bar and restaurant, called Cure.

Cure would go on to win all kinds of awards, including the Oscar of hospitality - a James Beard Award for “Outstanding Bar Program” - and the company behind it, CureCo Bar & Restaurant Group would go on to open Val’s, also on Freret Street, and other establishments, including Cane & Table on Decatur Street.

Neal Bodenheimer is a Co-Founder and the Managing Partner of these ventures, as well as a partner in Dauphine’s in Washington DC, Co-Chair of the Board of Directors of Tales of the Cocktail Foundation, and author of the book, Cure, New Orleans Drinks and How to Mix ‘em.

Tourists who visit New Orleans will often check out Freret Street and Magazine Street, but mostly they want to see The French Quarter.

Typically, they’ll stay in a hotel in the Quarter, or at an Air B’nB in a neighborhood.

There’s another local accommodation option too. It’s just west of the city. It sits on 7 and a half acres. It’s staffed by 12 employees, 24 hours a day 7 days a week, and has a full concierge desk. There’s a shuttle service to the French Quarter, and to special events like Saints games and Jazz Fest. The concierge will arrange any tour you want to go on. And they have a souvenir shop where everything is intentionally priced lower than downtown.

 So, what is this place? It’s the KOA campground in River Ridge. There are 100 RV sites, 4 tent sites, and 3 deluxe lodges. The owners of KOA Campgrounds New Orleans are husband and wife team, Mike and Deborah Dunn.

Yes, we have Big Ass Beers and Pat O’Briens, but we also have craft cocktails and Cure. And, yes, we have hotels on Bourbon Street and Air BnB’s Uptown, but we also have KOA Campgrounds in River Ridge. There is, as they say, more than one way to skin a cat.

According to AI, the origin of that saying is unknown, but it’s thought to refer to the various solutions to the tricky business of cleaning and preparing catfish. Which is entirely appropriate for this part of the world, and for today’s conversation, referring, as it does, to various ways of achieving the desired result of enjoying a long life or a short stay in New Orleans by taking the road less traveled.

Whether its locals who have turned Cure into an institution or visitors who have discovered the benefits of urban camping, all of us appreciate the unique ways both Deborah Sunn and Neal Bodenheimer are helping retain New Orleans’ reputation as a city that defies easy definition.

Out to Lunch was recorded live over lunch at Columns in Uptown New Orleans. You can find photos from this show by Jill Lafleur at itsneworleans.com.

If you think it feels like things are speeding up and change is coming faster than ever, well, you&rsquo;re right. It took us hundreds of thousands of years to get to a worldwide population of 3 billion. We got there in 1927. From there, it only took about 70 more years &ndash; one lifetime &ndash; to get to a population of 6 billion.
Back at the 3 billion mark, fewer Americans lived in urban areas. When they needed to shop for necessary supplies they&rsquo;d talk about &ldquo;going to town.&rdquo; &ldquo;Town&rdquo; was often a single street. A commercial corridor. A &ldquo;Main Street.&rdquo; Here in New Orleans, over the 300 years of our existence we&rsquo;ve had a number of main streets. Canal Street. Dryades Street. Magazine Street. Recently we&rsquo;ve added <a href="https://www.neworleans.com/plan/streets/freret-street/">Freret Street</a>.
The current incarnation of Freret street as a commercial district began with the re-birth of New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. One of the first outposts of resurrection was a then audaciously high-end, hip, cocktail bar and restaurant, called <a href="https://www.curenola.com/">Cure</a>.
Cure would go on to win all kinds of awards, including the Oscar of hospitality - a James Beard Award for &ldquo;Outstanding Bar Program&rdquo; - and the company behind it, CureCo Bar &amp; Restaurant Group would go on to open <a href="https://www.valsnola.com/">Val&rsquo;s, also on Freret Street</a>, and other establishments, including <a href="https://www.caneandtablenola.com/">Cane &amp; Table on Decatur Street</a>.
Neal Bodenheimer is a Co-Founder and the Managing Partner of these ventures, as well as a partner in <a href="https://www.dauphinesdc.com/">Dauphine&rsquo;s in Washington DC</a>, Co-Chair of the Board of Directors of <a href="https://talesofthecocktail.org/">Tales of the Cocktail Foundation</a>, and author of <a href="https://a.co/d/0ceyiSzx">the book, </a><a href="https://a.co/d/0ceyiSzx">Cure, New Orleans Drinks and How to Mix &lsquo;em</a>.
Tourists who visit New Orleans will often check out Freret Street and Magazine Street, but mostly they want to see The French Quarter.
Typically, they&rsquo;ll stay in a hotel in the Quarter, or at an Air B&rsquo;nB in a neighborhood.
There&rsquo;s another local accommodation option too. It&rsquo;s just west of the city. It sits on 7 and a half acres. It&rsquo;s staffed by 12 employees, 24 hours a day 7 days a week, and has a full concierge desk. There&rsquo;s a shuttle service to the French Quarter, and to special events like Saints games and Jazz Fest. The concierge will arrange any tour you want to go on. And they have a souvenir shop where everything is intentionally priced lower than downtown.
&nbsp;So, what is this place? <a href="https://koa.com/campgrounds/new-orleans/">It&rsquo;s the KOA campground in River Ridge</a>. There are 100 RV sites, 4 tent sites, and 3 deluxe lodges. The owners of KOA Campgrounds New Orleans are husband and wife team, Mike and Deborah Dunn.
Yes, we have Big Ass Beers and Pat O&rsquo;Briens, but we also have craft cocktails and Cure. And, yes, we have hotels on Bourbon Street and Air BnB&rsquo;s Uptown, but we also have KOA Campgrounds in River Ridge. There is, as they say, more than one way to skin a cat.
According to AI, the origin of that saying is unknown, but it&rsquo;s thought to refer to the various solutions to the tricky business of cleaning and preparing catfish. Which is entirely appropriate for this part of the world, and for today&rsquo;s conversation, referring, as it does, to various ways of achieving the desired result of enjoying a long life or a short stay in New Orleans by taking the road less traveled.
Whether its locals who have turned Cure into an institution or visitors who have discovered the benefits of urban camping, all of us appreciate the unique ways both Deborah Sunn and Neal Bodenheimer are helping retain New Orleans&rsquo; reputation as a city that defies easy definition.
Out to Lunch was recorded live over lunch at&nbsp;<a href="https://thecolumns.com/">Columns in Uptown New Orleans</a>. You can find photos from this show by&nbsp;<a href="https://www.lafleurphoto.com/">Jill Lafleur</a> at itsneworleans.com.

The Road Less Traveled

In conversations about business, you don’t hear Karl Marx quoted very often. That’s principally because of his enthusiasm for communism, which is kind of the opposite of business… But Marx was an economist back in the mid 1800’s and the reason we still know about him is because he had some insights that are still relevant.

Among them is the observation that everything contains the seeds of its own destruction. A current example of this is the way the internet is changing. Every single day there are 14 Billion – with a “B” – Google searches. Most of these searches lead the searcher to a website.

If you own a website and a business, and you want people to find you online, you use a science called Search Engine Optimization. Or SEO. SEO makes sure that when someone’s searching for what you’re selling, your website comes up first on a Google search.

Brian Hong has spent hours, weeks, months and years building websites and manipulating SEO for clients at his New Orleans company, Infintech Designs.

Then along came the seed of the internet’s destruction. AI. AI doesn’t search the web the way a human does. But every day more and more people are using AI to do web searches.

So how does Brian adapt? He gets into the AI business. He creates three AI companies, BigEasyData.ai, Flowbots.ai and Thorbit.ai.

In one way or another, each of these defeat the death of SEO and instead use AI to grow a business. Any kind of business. HVAC. Plumbing. A medical practice. A law firm…

To demonstrate his confidence in his AI tools’ ability to grow any business, instead of taking a fee, Brian will take a small stake in each company. And, but the way, in case you’re wondering, this is not theoretical, it’s actually working.

In another example of Marx’s seeds of self-destruction – one of the ironies of the of the so-called “Information age” - is the death of information itself.

We started publicly sharing written information as early as 59BC. That was the first newspaper. Almost continuously throughout human history since then, and certainly since the invention of the printing press, newspapers have played all kinds of functions in our communities. From a record of small-town births, deaths and marriages, to uncovering national political scandals and covering international wars, the newspaper has been a cohesive element of almost every literate community, everywhere.

The demise of newspapers has been well documented. And news of the shrinking of the news industry continues. Which is what makes an organization called Deep South Today so interesting.

Deep South Today is a nonprofit network of local newsrooms that includes The Current in Lafayette, The Garrison Project, Mississippi Today, and in New Orleans, Verite News.

Warwick Sabin is President and CEO of Deep South Today. Among his varied past occupations Warwick served three terms in the Arkansas House of Representatives, he was a press secretary on Capitol Hill, he has a graduate degree from Oxford University in the UK, and from 2008-13 he revived and was the publisher of the equally prestigious Oxford American magazine.

You’ve probably heard the expression, “When one door closes another door opens.” If that literally happens, you’re probably in prison. But as a metaphor it applies to both Brian's and Warwick's businesses. They're both in fields where the traditional way of doing things doesn’t work anymore, and they've both created original and unique pathways out of what has looked to most people like a dead end.

Frankly, most people who care about these issues in this country are not looking in a southerly direction for solutions. It’s pretty amazing what these guys have accomplished already. Watch this space!

Out to Lunch was recorded live over lunch at Columns in Uptown New Orleans. You can find photos from this show by Jill Lafleur at itsneworleans.com.

 

In conversations about business, you don&rsquo;t hear Karl Marx quoted very often. That&rsquo;s principally because of his enthusiasm for communism, which is kind of the opposite of business&hellip; But Marx was an economist back in the mid 1800&rsquo;s and the reason we still know about him is because he had some insights that are still relevant.
Among them is the observation that everything contains the seeds of its own destruction. A current example of this is the way the internet is changing. Every single day there are 14 Billion &ndash; with a &ldquo;B&rdquo; &ndash; Google searches. Most of these searches lead the searcher to a website.
If you own a website and a business, and you want people to find you online, you use a science called Search Engine Optimization. Or SEO. SEO makes sure that when someone&rsquo;s searching for what you&rsquo;re selling, your website comes up first on a Google search.
Brian Hong has spent hours, weeks, months and years building websites and manipulating SEO for clients at his New Orleans company, <a href="https://www.infintechdesigns.com/">Infintech Designs</a>.
Then along came the seed of the internet&rsquo;s destruction. AI. AI doesn&rsquo;t search the web the way a human does. But every day more and more people are using AI to do web searches.
So how does Brian adapt? He gets into the AI business. He creates three AI companies, <a href="https://bigeasydata.ai/">BigEasyData.ai</a>,<a href="https://www.flowbots.ai/"> Flowbots.ai </a>and <a href="https://thorbit.ai/">Thorbit.ai</a>.
In one way or another, each of these defeat the death of SEO and instead use AI to grow a business. Any kind of business. HVAC. Plumbing. A medical practice. A law firm&hellip;
To demonstrate his confidence in his AI tools&rsquo; ability to grow any business, instead of taking a fee, Brian will take a small stake in each company. And, but the way, in case you&rsquo;re wondering, this is not theoretical, it&rsquo;s actually working.
In another example of Marx&rsquo;s seeds of self-destruction &ndash; one of the ironies of the of the so-called &ldquo;Information age&rdquo; - is the death of information itself.
We started publicly sharing written information as early as 59BC. That was the first newspaper. Almost continuously throughout human history since then, and certainly since the invention of the printing press, newspapers have played all kinds of functions in our communities. From a record of small-town births, deaths and marriages, to uncovering national political scandals and covering international wars, the newspaper has been a cohesive element of almost every literate community, everywhere.
The demise of newspapers has been well documented. And news of the shrinking of the news industry continues. Which is what makes an organization called <a href="https://deepsouthtoday.org/">Deep South Today</a> so interesting.
Deep South Today is a nonprofit network of local newsrooms that includes&nbsp;The Current in Lafayette,&nbsp;The Garrison Project,&nbsp;Mississippi Today,&nbsp;and in New Orleans, Verite News.
Warwick Sabin is President and CEO of Deep South Today. Among his varied past occupations Warwick served three terms in the Arkansas House of Representatives, he was a press secretary on Capitol Hill, he has a graduate degree from Oxford University in the UK, and from 2008-13 he revived and was the publisher of the equally prestigious Oxford American magazine.
You&rsquo;ve probably heard the expression, &ldquo;When one door closes another door opens.&rdquo; If that literally happens, you&rsquo;re probably in prison. But as a metaphor it applies to both Brian's and Warwick's businesses. They're both in fields where the traditional way of doing things doesn&rsquo;t work anymore, and they've both created original and unique pathways out of what has looked to most people like a dead end.
Frankly, most people who care about these issues in this country are not looking in a southerly direction for solutions. It&rsquo;s pretty amazing what these guys have accomplished already. Watch this space!
Out to Lunch was recorded live over lunch at&nbsp;<a href="https://thecolumns.com/">Columns in Uptown New Orleans</a>. You can find photos from this show by&nbsp;<a href="https://www.lafleurphoto.com/">Jill Lafleur</a> at<a href="https://itsneworleans.com/2026/04/12/solutions-from-the-south/"> itsneworleans.com</a>.
&nbsp;

Solutions From The South

Things don't always work out like you planned. You know, they just don't.

Nobody gets married planning to one day get divorced. But, somehow, around 40% of people who get married for the first time find themselves at some point in that position.

For people who get married a second time, 60% of those end in divorce. And if you’re brave enough to try it a third time, your chances of getting divorced go up to 70%. 

Add ‘em all up and that’s a lot of people. It may well include you. If not, it has almost certainly included either your parents, your kids, or somebody close to you. So, you probably know how difficult it can be to navigate this period of your life.

One thing everybody in this situation has in common is, they need advice.  Who do you turn to for help? You could ask a friend who’s been through it. You could Google “Divorce attorney near me.” Or, you could get yourself a Divorce Coach at a website called Divorce Plus.

Divorce Plus has been around since 2023 and they cover every possible angle you could think of – as well as a few angles you may have never considered. Like, “Building Mental Strategies For a Healthier Divorce Process”  and “Am I Married to a Narcissist and How To Cope.”

The Co-Founder and CEO of Divorce Plus is New Orleanian, Richard Perque.

Whether you’re married, single, divorced, or any variety of parent with young kids, you need help. Whether it’s every day or just occasionally, if you don’t have a built-in helper in the form of a family member, you’re going to need daycare.

And if you happen to be a daycare provider, you’re going to need kid clients.

For both parties, what would be the simplest possible solution to this? And I mean the absolute simplest. Could it possibly be, do you think, Daycare.com? It couldn’t be that easy, could it?

Yep, it sure could. And it is. Daycare.com has over 250,000 daycare providers across the country. They’ve been dedicated to matching parents with daycare providers since 1997.

The Co-Founder and President of Daycare.com is New Orleanian, Ryan North. 

One lesson most of us learn at some point in our life, is humility. No matter how smart, accomplished, good-looking or even rich and famous we are, we can’t do everything alone. Every single one of us needs help at one time or another.

You can be the nicest, kindest, most generous, loving and caring person – or at least you can think you are – and still end up in a marriage that doesn’t work, for any number of reasons.

You can be the most devoted parent, but have no alternative but to depend on daycare.

Neither of these observations are all that revelatory. What is surprising, though, is that the solutions to both of these universal issues are coming out of New Orleans.

Out to Lunch was recorded live over lunch at Columns in Uptown New Orleans. Andrew Ward sits in as host for Peter Ricchiuti.

You can find photos from this show by Jill Lafleur at itsneworleans.com.

Things don't always work out like you planned. You know, they just don't.
Nobody gets married planning to one day get divorced. But, somehow, around 40% of people who get married for the first time find themselves at some point in that position.
For people who get married a second time, 60% of those end in divorce. And if you&rsquo;re brave enough to try it a third time, your chances of getting divorced go up to 70%.&nbsp;
Add &lsquo;em all up and that&rsquo;s a lot of people. It may well include you. If not, it has almost certainly included either your parents, your kids, or somebody close to you. So, you probably know how difficult it can be to navigate this period of your life.
One thing everybody in this situation has in common is, they need advice.&nbsp; Who do you turn to for help? You could ask a friend who&rsquo;s been through it. You could Google &ldquo;Divorce attorney near me.&rdquo; Or, you could get yourself a Divorce Coach at <a href="https://www.divorceplus.com/">a website called Divorce Plus</a>.
Divorce Plus has been around since 2023 and they cover every possible angle you could think of &ndash; as well as a few angles you may have never considered. Like, &ldquo;<a href="https://www.divorceplus.com/mental-strategies-divorce-process-2">Building Mental Strategies For a Healthier Divorce Process</a>&rdquo;&nbsp; and &ldquo;<a href="https://www.divorceplus.com/am-i-married-to-a-narcissist-signs">Am I Married to a Narcissist and How To Cope.&rdquo;</a>
The Co-Founder and CEO of Divorce Plus is New Orleanian, Richard Perque.
Whether you&rsquo;re married, single, divorced, or any variety of parent with young kids, you need help. Whether it&rsquo;s every day or just occasionally, if you don&rsquo;t have a built-in helper in the form of a family member, you&rsquo;re going to need daycare.
And if you happen to be a daycare provider, you&rsquo;re going to need kid clients.
For both parties, what would be the simplest possible solution to this? And I mean the absolute simplest. Could it possibly be, do you think, <a href="https://www.daycare.com/">Daycare.com</a>? It couldn&rsquo;t be that easy, could it?
Yep, it sure could. And it is. Daycare.com has over 250,000 daycare providers across the country. They&rsquo;ve been dedicated to matching parents with daycare providers since 1997.
The Co-Founder and President of Daycare.com is New Orleanian, Ryan North.&nbsp;
One lesson most of us learn at some point in our life, is humility. No matter how smart, accomplished, good-looking or even rich and famous we are, we can&rsquo;t do everything alone. Every single one of us needs help at one time or another.
You can be the nicest, kindest, most generous, loving and caring person &ndash; or at least you can think you are &ndash; and still end up in a marriage that doesn&rsquo;t work, for any number of reasons.
You can be the most devoted parent, but have no alternative but to depend on daycare.
Neither of these observations are all that revelatory. What is surprising, though, is that the solutions to both of these universal issues are coming out of New Orleans.
Out to Lunch was recorded live over lunch at&nbsp;<a href="https://thecolumns.com/">Columns in Uptown New Orleans</a>. Andrew Ward sits in as host for Peter Ricchiuti.
You can find photos from this show by <a href="https://www.lafleurphoto.com/">Jill Lafleur</a> at <a href="https://itsneworleans.com/2026/03/22/a-little-help-from-my-friends/">itsneworleans.com</a>.

A Little Help From My Friends

People who try and explain the complexity of human existence sometimes talk about “the seen and unseen world.”

The seen world is the world of everyday reality in which we live.

The theory of the unseen world attempts to explain some events in the real world - like love, happiness, and talent - in terms of the intangible. These explanations might range from suggestions of the existence of a soul, to past lives and karma.

There is, of course, no substantiated evidence of the existence of an unseen world. Unless you’re talking about the restaurant business.

In a restaurant, a diner’s real-world experience of sitting down at a table, enjoying a drink and a professionally prepared and served meal, is undeniably affected by a complex web of unseen causes.

The interpersonal relationships in the kitchen... Whether or not the staff have health insurance... And chains of events like the restaurant’s ability to secure a minimum order of fresh shrimp from a supplier at a decent price - the profitability of which depends on the number of customers who show up and order the shrimp special - which itself is dependent on server education and a successful social media marketing campaign.

At a big and successful restaurant, these demanding complexities are handled by a range of personnel – typically as many as 20 people – employing a range of complex systems.

Here in New Orleans, Elizabeth Tilton realized if smaller restaurants – which most restaurants in the United States are – had access to these same personnel and systems, they would greatly increase their chances of success. That’s why, in 2019, she founded her company, Oyster Sunday.

Oyster Sunday provides restaurants with concept development, financial strategy, project management, branding, marketing, PR, human resources, operations, and much more. Their clients are scattered all across the United States, and even around the world.

The comedian Steven Wright has a great line: “It’s a small world. But I wouldn’t want to paint it.”

When you step into an actual small world - like a music festival or a convention - you’ll notice there’s typically a whole other reality. It ranges from functional construction – like stages or booths - to decorations. These elements create both the infrastructure and the vibe of events. And despite Steven Wright’s trepidation, somebody has to not just paint all of that, they also have to design and build it.

Here in New Orleans, and across the country too, the fabrication of those worlds is the work of a company called Downtown FabWorks. The Founder and President of the company is Daniel Krall.

if there are two things we know something about in New Orleans – better than probably anywhere in the country – it’s eating out, and getting out and having fun. So, perhaps it’s not surprising that two industry leading, innovative businesses in these fields are the creations of two New Orleanians.

Out to Lunch was recorded live over lunch at Columns in Uptown New Orleans. You can find photos from this show by Jill Lafleur at itsneworleans.com.

 

People who try and explain the complexity of human existence sometimes talk about &ldquo;the seen and unseen world.&rdquo;
The seen world is the world of everyday reality in which we live.
The theory of the unseen world attempts to explain some events in the real world - like love, happiness, and talent - in terms of the intangible. These explanations might range from suggestions of the existence of a soul, to past lives and karma.
There is, of course, no substantiated evidence of the existence of an unseen world. Unless you&rsquo;re talking about the restaurant business.
In a restaurant, a diner&rsquo;s real-world experience of sitting down at a table, enjoying a drink and a professionally prepared and served meal, is undeniably affected by a complex web of unseen causes.
The interpersonal relationships in the kitchen... Whether or not the staff have health insurance... And chains of events like the restaurant&rsquo;s ability to secure a minimum order of fresh shrimp from a supplier at a decent price - the profitability of which depends on the number of customers who show up and order the shrimp special - which itself is dependent on server education and a successful social media marketing campaign.
At a big and successful restaurant, these demanding complexities are handled by a range of personnel &ndash; typically as many as 20 people &ndash; employing a range of complex systems.
Here in New Orleans, Elizabeth Tilton realized if smaller restaurants &ndash; which most restaurants in the United States are &ndash; had access to these same personnel and systems, they would greatly increase their chances of success. That&rsquo;s why, in 2019, she founded her company, <a href="https://www.oystersunday.com/">Oyster Sunday</a>.
Oyster Sunday provides restaurants with concept development, financial strategy, project management, branding, marketing, PR, human resources, operations, and much more. Their clients are scattered all across the United States, and even around the world.
The comedian Steven Wright has a great line: &ldquo;It&rsquo;s a small world. But I wouldn&rsquo;t want to paint it.&rdquo;
When you step into an actual small world - like a music festival or a convention - you&rsquo;ll notice there&rsquo;s typically a whole other reality. It ranges from functional construction &ndash; like stages or booths - to decorations. These elements create both the infrastructure and the vibe of events. And despite Steven Wright&rsquo;s trepidation, somebody has to not just paint all of that, they also have to design and build it.
Here in New Orleans, and across the country too, the fabrication of those worlds is the work of a company called <a href="https://www.downtownfabworks.com/">Downtown FabWorks</a>. The Founder and President of the company is Daniel Krall.
if there are two things we know something about in New Orleans &ndash; better than probably anywhere in the country &ndash; it&rsquo;s eating out, and getting out and having fun. So, perhaps it&rsquo;s not surprising that two industry leading, innovative businesses in these fields are the creations of two New Orleanians.
Out to Lunch was recorded live over lunch at&nbsp;<a href="https://thecolumns.com/">Columns in Uptown New Orleans</a>. You can find photos from this show by&nbsp;<a href="https://www.lafleurphoto.com/">Jill Lafleur</a> at <a href="https://itsneworleans.com/2026/03/15/the-seen-and-unseen-world/">itsneworleans.com</a>.
&nbsp;

The Seen and Unseen World

When you’re the CEO or Executive Director of a company, you’re responsible for, well, everything. If the company does well, you’re a genius. If the company does poorly, you’re fired.

Typically, the definition of business success is how much money a company makes. And that can be a function of market share. Both of my lunch guests today are executives of major New Orleans companies. Each of these companies has 100% market share. Yes, 100%. Meaning, everybody in New Orleans who uses the products they sell uses their products.

One of the companies supplies water, and removes sewerage. It’s called The Sewerage and Water Board of New Orleans.

At this point if you’re saying, “Wait up, that’s not actually a private company,” well, you’re kind of right. Kind of. What the sewerage and water board isn’t, is a simple city department, like you find in New York City, Chicago, and Houston. Neither is it a wholly private company contracted by the city, like in Los Angeles or Phoenix.

Instead, it’s a hybrid. It’s largely controlled by city politicians – the Mayor automatically serves as the board president – but it operates independently. It is not meant to make a profit, but it has its own revenue separate from city departments, and contracts with for-profit companies to provide some services. In short, it’s a public utility that’s run like a political board but expected to perform like a professional infrastructure company.

And sitting on top of this complicated setup is the Executive Director of the Sewerage and Water Board of New Orleans, Randy Hayman.

If your house or business is hooked up to gas, sometime in 2025 you stopped paying Entergy for it and started paying a company called Delta Utilities. Nobody asked you if you wanted to switch your gas supplier from Entergy to Delta, Entergy just decided to sell off its gas division and Delta Utilities was the company that bought it.

Delta Utilities is what’s called a “regulated utility.” Its operations, rates, service quality, and infrastructure investments are regulated by the State. But it’s a private company. Delta Utilities is owned by a private equity firm – Bernhard Capital Partners. It’s set up to serve customers, and to make a profit for its owners.

One of the people responsible for administering this complex structure is the Chief Administrative Officer of Delta Utilities, Jeremy Turner.

If you live in New Orleans, you’re 100% certain to have a relationship with the Sewerage and Water Board. Even if you have a septic tank in your back yard and you get all your water from your own well, you’re still going to be dependent on the infrastructure that keeps the city’s streets – and your house – free of flood water.

And if you don’t have gas at your house, you can be pretty sure your favorite restaurant does.

So, one way or another, the Sewerage and Water Board and Delta Utilities are woven into fabric of the everyday life of every person here in New Orleans. 

In the immortal words of Leslie Neilsen in the movie Airplane, “Good luck. We're all counting on you.” In the movie, that was a running joke, delivered even as the plane was in severe danger of crashing. In New Orleans, we often feel like we’re on the brink of disaster, but unlike Airplane, it’s not a joke. We are, in fact, all counting on Jeremy and Ryan.

Out to Lunch was recorded live over lunch at Columns in Uptown New Orleans. You can find photos from this show by Jill Lafleur at itsneworleans.com.

When you&rsquo;re the CEO or Executive Director of a company, you&rsquo;re responsible for, well, everything. If the company does well, you&rsquo;re a genius. If the company does poorly, you&rsquo;re fired.
Typically, the definition of business success is how much money a company makes. And that can be a function of market share. Both of my lunch guests today are executives of major New Orleans companies. Each of these companies has 100% market share. Yes, 100%. Meaning, everybody in New Orleans who uses the products they sell uses their products.
One of the companies supplies water, and removes sewerage. It&rsquo;s called <a href="https://www.swbno.org/">The Sewerage and Water Board of New Orleans</a>.
At this point if you&rsquo;re saying, &ldquo;Wait up, that&rsquo;s not actually a private company,&rdquo; well, you&rsquo;re kind of right. Kind of. What the sewerage and water board isn&rsquo;t, is a simple city department, like you find in New York City, Chicago, and Houston. Neither is it a wholly private company contracted by the city, like in Los Angeles or Phoenix.
Instead, it&rsquo;s a hybrid. It&rsquo;s largely controlled by city politicians &ndash; the Mayor automatically serves as the board president &ndash; but it operates independently. It is not meant to make a profit, but it has its own revenue separate from city departments, and contracts with for-profit companies to provide some services. In short, it&rsquo;s a public utility that&rsquo;s run like a political board but expected to perform like a professional infrastructure company.
And sitting on top of this complicated setup is the Executive Director of the Sewerage and Water Board of New Orleans, Randy Hayman.
If your house or business is hooked up to gas, sometime in 2025 you stopped paying Entergy for it and started paying a company called <a href="https://deltautilities.com/">Delta Utilities</a>. Nobody asked you if you wanted to switch your gas supplier from Entergy to Delta, Entergy just decided to sell off its gas division and Delta Utilities was the company that bought it.
Delta Utilities is what&rsquo;s called a &ldquo;regulated utility.&rdquo; Its operations, rates, service quality, and infrastructure investments are regulated by the State. But it&rsquo;s a private company. Delta Utilities is owned by a private equity firm &ndash; <a href="https://www.bernhardcapital.co">Bernhard Capital Partners</a>. It&rsquo;s set up to serve customers, and to make a profit for its owners.
One of the people responsible for administering this complex structure is the Chief Administrative Officer of Delta Utilities, Jeremy Turner.
If you live in New Orleans, you&rsquo;re 100% certain to have a relationship with the Sewerage and Water Board. Even if you have a septic tank in your back yard and you get all your water from your own well, you&rsquo;re still going to be dependent on the infrastructure that keeps the city&rsquo;s streets &ndash; and your house &ndash; free of flood water.
And if you don&rsquo;t have gas at your house, you can be pretty sure your favorite restaurant does.
So, one way or another, the Sewerage and Water Board and Delta Utilities are woven into fabric of the everyday life of every person here in New Orleans.&nbsp;
In the immortal words of Leslie Neilsen in the movie Airplane, &ldquo;Good luck. We're all counting on you.&rdquo; In the movie, that was a running joke, delivered even as the plane was in severe danger of crashing. In New Orleans, we often feel like we&rsquo;re on the brink of disaster, but unlike Airplane, it&rsquo;s not a joke. We are, in fact, all counting on Jeremy and Ryan.
Out to Lunch was recorded live over lunch at&nbsp;<a href="https://thecolumns.com/">Columns in Uptown New Orleans</a>. You can find photos from this show by&nbsp;<a href="https://www.lafleurphoto.com/">Jill Lafleur</a> at<a href="https://itsneworleans.com/2026/03/08/two-of-your-favorite-people/"> itsneworleans.com</a>.

Two of Your Favorite People

Most people start a business for the same reason: to make money. John Roberts started a business to give money away.

John and his business partner, Mickal Adler, would certainly like to end up making money at some point – that is the end goal of their company, Boot 64 Ventures. 

It’s the word “venture” that’s the key to what’s going on here. Boot 64 is a venture capital company. The money they’re giving away as investments is partly privately raised capital, but it’s also funds that come from a federally created program called SSBCI, which stands for State Small Business Credit Initiative.

We’ll get into the nuts and bolts of how this all works, but the general requirement for the fund is that businesses have to boost the state’s economy. Boot 64 Ventures is investing in diverse sectors that include AI, energy, food, tech, and healthcare.

And now the story of another John who set out to make an investment. This John is John Stubbs.

John started out life in Lafayette Louisiana and found himself spending 30-plus years in Washington DC, working in international trade and public health.

John and his wife bought a house in New Orleans so they could spend some time here. John also made an investment in a restaurant here, called Jewel of the South. It took a long time, a lot of effort, and too much money to get the place open - which they accomplished just in time to get closed down by the Covid pandemic.

When the restaurant re-opened, John decided for better or worse, with no restaurant experience, he was not going to be a passive investor, he was going to be an active owner. How did that work out? Well, if you live in New Orleans you might know it worked out pretty well. And if you live anywhere else in the US, you might know that too. In a prestigious and much-respected ranking of North America’s 50 best Bars, Jewel of the South was named Best Bar In The South for 3 straight years.

In 2024, Jewel of the South won a James Beard Award for “Outstanding Bar.”

If there was a simple formula for success, we’d all know it by now. The reality is, everybody’s path to success is different. There are so many bars in New Orleans, you can’t even get an accurate total number. One normally reliable source says there are 265. Another normally equally reliable source says there are 800. Whatever the actual number, if there’s one thing New Orleans didn’t need when John Stubbs opened Jewel of the South, it’s another bar. But it's not just one of the greatest bars in the city, but one of the greatest in the country.

Over the next decade there are going to be a whole bunch of success stories of unique local businesses who have done something amazing, and Boot 64 Ventures might just be the reason for their very existence.

Out to Lunch was recorded live over lunch at Columns in Uptown New Orleans. You can find photos from this show by Jill Lafleur at itsneworleans.com.

Most people start a business for the same reason: to make money. John Roberts started a business to give money away.
John and his business partner, Mickal Adler, would certainly like to end up making money at some point &ndash; that is the end goal of their company, <a href="https://boot64.com/">Boot 64 Ventures</a>.&nbsp;
It&rsquo;s the word &ldquo;venture&rdquo; that&rsquo;s the key to what&rsquo;s going on here. Boot 64 is a venture capital company. The money they&rsquo;re giving away as investments is partly privately raised capital, but it&rsquo;s also funds that come from a federally created program called SSBCI, which stands for State Small Business Credit Initiative.
We&rsquo;ll get into the nuts and bolts of how this all works, but the general requirement for the fund is that businesses have to boost the state&rsquo;s economy. Boot 64 Ventures is investing in diverse sectors that include AI, energy, food, tech, and healthcare.
And now the story of another John who set out to make an investment. This John is John Stubbs.
John started out life in Lafayette Louisiana and found himself spending 30-plus years in Washington DC, working in international trade and public health.
John and his wife bought a house in New Orleans so they could spend some time here. John also made an investment in a restaurant here, called <a href="https://www.jewelnola.com/">Jewel of the South</a>. It took a long time, a lot of effort, and too much money to get the place open - which they accomplished just in time to get closed down by the Covid pandemic.
When the restaurant re-opened, John decided for better or worse, with no restaurant experience, he was not going to be a passive investor, he was going to be an active owner. How did that work out? Well, if you live in New Orleans you might know it worked out pretty well. And if you live anywhere else in the US, you might know that too. In a prestigious and much-respected ranking of North America&rsquo;s 50 best Bars, Jewel of the South was named Best Bar In The South for 3 straight years.
In 2024, Jewel of the South won a James Beard Award for &ldquo;Outstanding Bar.&rdquo;
If there was a simple formula for success, we&rsquo;d all know it by now. The reality is, everybody&rsquo;s path to success is different. There are so many bars in New Orleans, you can&rsquo;t even get an accurate total number. One normally reliable source says there are 265. Another normally equally reliable source says there are 800. Whatever the actual number, if there&rsquo;s one thing New Orleans didn&rsquo;t need when John Stubbs opened Jewel of the South, it&rsquo;s another bar. But it's not just one of the greatest bars in the city, but one of the greatest in the country.
Over the next decade there are going to be a whole bunch of success stories of unique local businesses who have done something amazing, and Boot 64 Ventures might just be the reason for their very existence.
Out to Lunch was recorded live over lunch at&nbsp;<a href="https://thecolumns.com/">Columns in Uptown New Orleans</a>. You can find photos from this show by&nbsp;<a href="https://www.lafleurphoto.com/">Jill Lafleur</a> at itsneworleans.com.

John and John

When we started out making a show about New Orleans business, people – even in the business community – said, “Well that’s great, but what are you going to do after 6 weeks?”

That was 2011. We’ve recorded a new episode of Out to Lunch almost every week since then. And we still haven’t run out of guests. In fact, there are so many people doing interesting things in New Orleans business that we rarely have anyone on the show more than once.

But, once in a while, we like to check in on some of our earliest guests and see what they’re up to.

Back in 2012, in our first year on the air, we met a young man by the name of Kenneth Purcell. Kenneth had some ideas that bridged the gap between the real world – that most of us lived in in those days – and the virtual world, that was beginning to stagger to its feet.

To put this in context, in 2006 Apple launched a music player called the i-pod. In 2007 they launched the iPhone. In 2010 they launched the iPad. Locally, before all that, in 1999, Kenneth launched a company called iSeatz.

iSeatz wasn’t a device, it was a then-revolutionary new way of making a reservation at a restaurant: Online. I won’t go through every twist and turn in the story, but basically, Kenneth’s company, which is still called iSeatz, went on to pioneer the back-end of online travel and financial services.

Among other accomplishments, iSeatz was the company that came up with the idea of using air-miles to buy things other than air tickets. Today, iSeatz creates and provides the online travel engine for companies like Amex, IHG Hotels & Resorts, and Qantas..

In 2014, at the Idea Village Entrepreneur Week, we met a young woman called Catherine Todd. Catherine and her partner had founded a business called Where Y’Art that had just won Idea Village’s entrepreneur prize for an arts-based business pitch. It was a then-innovative online art gallery: A curated marketplace where selected local artists would be introduced to people who buy art.

Today, the company is called Where Y’Art Works and is focused on providing local art to organizations that want to decorate.

Where Y’Art Works collaborates with interior designers, facilities teams, set designers, and industry professionals to put original art by local artists in spaces in New Orleans, Baton Rouge, North Louisiana, and the Mississippi Gulf Coast. To date they’ve completed over 325 commercial projects - including putting art on the walls in the Sheraton Hotel, Fidelity Bank, and Ochsner and LCMC facilities. In the process, they’ve paid local artists, framers and installers over $6.5m.

If we had to pin an exact date on the birth of New Orleans and give it an astrological sign, the city is probably Gemini. The twins. I say that because there seem to be two co-existing versions of the city. One is the city that never changes. You can leave for years and when come back, your favorite people and your favorite dishes at your favorite restaurants are still be here. The other New Orleans is the city that is constantly changing. New brass bands, new Mardi Gras parade groups, new types of king cakes, and new businesses that are growing, or getting bought and sold.

Catherine and Kenneth have a foot in both camps. Their businesses are still growing, they’re changing and adapting, but they've been at it now for long enough to become local institutions. And even though they're still both young, they’re the entrepreneurial OG generation – the inspiration for a whole new generation of entrepreneurs.

Out to Lunch was recorded live over lunch at Columns in Uptown New Orleans. You can find photos from this show by Jill Lafleur at itsneworleans.com.

 

When we started out making a show about New Orleans business, people &ndash; even in the business community &ndash; said, &ldquo;Well that&rsquo;s great, but what are you going to do after 6 weeks?&rdquo;
That was 2011. We&rsquo;ve recorded a new episode of Out to Lunch almost every week since then. And we still haven&rsquo;t run out of guests. In fact, there are so many people doing interesting things in New Orleans business that we rarely have anyone on the show more than once.
But, once in a while, we like to check in on some of our earliest guests and see what they&rsquo;re up to.
<a href="https://itsneworleans.com/2012/10/28/out-to-lunch-startup-superstars-out-to-lunch-its-new-orleans/">Back in 2012, in our first year on the air, we met a young man by the name of Kenneth Purcell</a>. Kenneth had some ideas that bridged the gap between the real world &ndash; that most of us lived in in those days &ndash; and the virtual world, that was beginning to stagger to its feet.
To put this in context, in 2006 Apple launched a music player called the i-pod. In 2007 they launched the iPhone. In 2010 they launched the iPad. Locally, before all that, in 1999, Kenneth launched a company called <a href="https://www.iseatz.com/en/">iSeatz.</a>
iSeatz wasn&rsquo;t a device, it was a then-revolutionary new way of making a reservation at a restaurant: Online. I won&rsquo;t go through every twist and turn in the story, but basically, Kenneth&rsquo;s company, which is still called iSeatz, went on to pioneer the back-end of online travel and financial services.
Among other accomplishments, iSeatz was the company that came up with the idea of using air-miles to buy things other than air tickets. Today, iSeatz creates and provides the online travel engine for companies like Amex, IHG Hotels &amp; Resorts, and Qantas..
<a href="https://itsneworleans.com/2014/04/04/entrepreneur-week-2014-out-to-lunch-its-new-orleans/">In 2014, at the Idea Village Entrepreneur Week, we met a young woman called Catherine Todd.</a> Catherine and her partner had founded a business called Where Y&rsquo;Art that had just won Idea Village&rsquo;s entrepreneur prize for an arts-based business pitch. It was a then-innovative online art gallery: A curated marketplace where selected local artists would be introduced to people who buy art.
Today, the company is called <a href="https://whereyartworks.com/">Where Y&rsquo;Art Works</a> and is focused on providing local art to organizations that want to decorate.
Where Y&rsquo;Art Works collaborates with interior designers, facilities teams, set designers, and industry professionals to put original art by local artists in spaces in New Orleans, Baton Rouge, North Louisiana, and the Mississippi Gulf Coast. To date they&rsquo;ve completed over 325 commercial projects - including putting art on the walls in the Sheraton Hotel, Fidelity Bank, and Ochsner and LCMC facilities. In the process, they&rsquo;ve paid local artists, framers and installers over $6.5m.
If we had to pin an exact date on the birth of New Orleans and give it an astrological sign, the city is probably Gemini. The twins. I say that because there seem to be two co-existing versions of the city. One is the city that never changes. You can leave for years and when come back, your favorite people and your favorite dishes at your favorite restaurants are still be here. The other New Orleans is the city that is constantly changing. New brass bands, new Mardi Gras parade groups, new types of king cakes, and new businesses that are growing, or getting bought and sold.
Catherine and Kenneth have a foot in both camps. Their businesses are still growing, they&rsquo;re changing and adapting, but they've been at it now for long enough to become local institutions. And even though they're still both young, they&rsquo;re the entrepreneurial OG generation &ndash; the inspiration for a whole new generation of entrepreneurs.
Out to Lunch was recorded live over lunch at <a href="https://thecolumns.com/">Columns in Uptown New Orleans</a>. You can find photos from this show by&nbsp;<a href="https://www.lafleurphoto.com/">Jill Lafleur</a> at<a href="https://itsneworleans.com/2026/02/15/catching-up/"> itsneworleans.com</a>.
&nbsp;

Catching Up

I have three questions for you. One - What are your parents’ names? You can probably answer that easily. Two - What are your grandparents’ names? You can probably answer that as well. Now here's the third question. What are the names of your great grandparents? Do you know? Off the top of your head…

This is not a scientific survey, but I’ve asked enough people this question to be fairly confident that most people cannot tell you the names of their great grandparents. It doesn't take very long for us to lose track of our history. And that's just in our own family.

For something as complex and large as the City of New Orleans, we have a repository of our collective memory. It’s called the Historic New Orleans Collection. It opened its doors as a small museum in the French Quarter in 1970. Today, under the current leadership of President and CEO Daniel Hammer, HNOC has  grown to 14 historic buildings spread over 3 blocks in the Quarter. It houses over 1 million artefacts, it publishes books, and a quarterly magazine.

When you go to a transportation museum, you see cars, boats, and planes. When you go to a music museum, you see musical instruments and hear songs. When you go to a history museum, you can't actually see history. What you do see is representations of history, usually in the form of documents and photographs.

History is a retrospective ordering of what were at one point live events. Museums of the future will be able to display historical events of today as they happened in real time - in the form of video. Not only do we record and post countless hours of human activity on video, we also live stream it.

If you'd like to see human history being made right now, from pretty much any place in the world, you can do that, at a website or app called Who’s Live.

Who’s Live is an aggregator of live streaming video from around the world and across the country, categorized into sections like News, Sports, Education, Gaming, and many more. There is literally something for everyone, 24 hours a day, on Who’s Live. And it’s the brainchild of New Orleanian, Nate Voerhoeven.

When someone tells you, “That was then but this is now,” it’s generally not good. It’s typically a shorthand way of saying, “Things have changed and you need to keep up.” But, when you think about it, “Then” and “Now” is all we’ve got. As far back as The New Testament, we’re warned that we’re not promised tomorrow. So we need to make the most of the present moment.

There’s probably nobody on earth who is doing more than Nate Verhoeven to channel every human current event into a single present moment. And there’s nobody in New Orleans doing more than Daniel Hammer to preserve the most significant of those events for future generations.

Out to Lunch was recorded live over lunch at Columns in Uptown New Orleans. You can find photos from this show by Jill Lafleur at itsneworleans.com.

I have three questions for you. One - What are your parents&rsquo; names? You can probably answer that easily. Two - What are your grandparents&rsquo; names? You can probably answer that as well. Now here's the third question. What are the names of your great grandparents? Do you know? Off the top of your head&hellip;
This is not a scientific survey, but I&rsquo;ve asked enough people this question to be fairly confident that most people cannot tell you the names of their great grandparents. It doesn't take very long for us to lose track of our history. And that's just in our own family.
For something as complex and large as the City of New Orleans, we have a repository of our collective memory. It&rsquo;s called the <a href="https://hnoc.org/">Historic New Orleans Collection</a>. It opened its doors as a small museum in the French Quarter in 1970. Today, under the current leadership of President and CEO Daniel Hammer, HNOC has &nbsp;grown to 14 historic buildings spread over 3 blocks in the Quarter. It houses over 1 million artefacts, it publishes books, and a quarterly magazine.
When you go to a transportation museum, you see cars, boats, and planes. When you go to a music museum, you see musical instruments and hear songs. When you go to a history museum, you can't actually&nbsp;see history. What you do see is representations of history, usually in the form of documents and photographs.
History is a retrospective ordering of what were at one point live events. Museums of the future will be able to display historical events of today as they happened in real time - in the form of video. Not only do we record and post countless hours of human activity on video, we also live stream it.
If you'd like to see human history being made right now, from pretty much any place in the world, you can do that, at <a href="https://whoslive.io/">a website or app called Who&rsquo;s Live</a>.
Who&rsquo;s Live is an aggregator of live streaming video from around the world and across the country, categorized into sections like News, Sports, Education, Gaming, and many more. There is literally something for everyone, 24 hours a day, on Who&rsquo;s Live. And it&rsquo;s the brainchild of New Orleanian, Nate Voerhoeven.
When someone tells you, &ldquo;That was then but this is now,&rdquo; it&rsquo;s generally not good. It&rsquo;s typically a shorthand way of saying, &ldquo;Things have changed and you need to keep up.&rdquo; But, when you think about it, &ldquo;Then&rdquo; and &ldquo;Now&rdquo; is all we&rsquo;ve got. As far back as The New Testament, we&rsquo;re warned that we&rsquo;re not promised tomorrow. So we need to make the most of the present moment.
There&rsquo;s probably nobody on earth who is doing more than Nate Verhoeven to channel every human current event into a single present moment. And there&rsquo;s nobody in New Orleans doing more than Daniel Hammer to preserve the most significant of those events for future generations.
Out to Lunch was recorded live over lunch at&nbsp;<a href="https://thecolumns.com/">Columns in Uptown New Orleans</a>. You can find photos from this show by&nbsp;<a href="https://www.lafleurphoto.com/">Jill Lafleur</a> at<a href="https://itsneworleans.com/2026/02/08/that-was-then-this-is-now/"> itsneworleans.com</a>.

That Was Then This Is Now

In almost every conversation about healthcare, we hear the term, “provider.” Typically, we assume a healthcare provider is a doctor. But, if you look at insurance company definitions of health care providers, the term includes almost every branch of medical care - therapists, podiatrists, imaging centers, home-health agencies, hospice, the list goes on.

Ironically, the one person not on any official list of healthcare providers is “you.” A local wellness entrepreneur is changing that.

Kwame Terra is Founder and CEO of bEHR Health Systems. The company’s principal product is an app directed specifically at Black Americans. The app doesn’t replace professional healthcare providers, but it aims to put the user front and center in directing their own health outcomes.

The app store summary says, “At bEHR, we aspire to create a healthcare resource free from the shackles of racism that infect our current system and seamlessly integrate health into Black culture. This isn't just a health app for tracking and enhancing well-being; it signifies the initiation of our enduring commitment to stand as Black America’s health partner for life.”

With roughly 14% of Americans – 48 million people - identifying as Black, and a 2024 Pew Research finding that 51% of Black Americans say they believe the U.S. health-care system was designed to “hold Black people back a great deal or a fair amount,” there would appear to be a ready market for this product.

When it comes to the traditional provision of healthcare, the consistently best-regarded group and most trusted providers of medical care, are nurses. Patients and doctors alike typically regard nurses as critical to patient safety and care.

There’s also a critical shortage of nurses.

According to a recent report from the Louisiana Board of Regents, the state is projected to face a shortage of roughly 6,000 registered nursesby 2030. That’s about 40% short of the workforce needed, if nothing changes. One local institution that’s working to change that outcome is The University of Holy Cross, on the Westbank. Among its other courses, UHC has a dedicated Department of Nursing.

RegisteredNursing.org – a nationwide organization of registered nurses – has rated UHC as the best nursing school in Louisiana. And UHC’s nursing department is one of the principal focuses of the school’s President, Dr. Stanton McNeely.

If we did a simultaneous scan of every news-talk radio station and every TV news channel right now, it’s pretty likely we’re not the only people talking about healthcare. But it’s very likely we’re the only people talking about a Catholic-college-driven solution to the nursing shortage, and an African-American-focused entrepreneurial venture aimed at sidestepping healthcare racism.

Even in something as ubiquitous as the healthcare debate, New Orleans manages to be, well, New Orleans.

Out to Lunch was recorded live over lunch at Columns in Uptown New Orleans. You can find photos from this show by Jill Lafleur at itsneworleans.com

In almost every conversation about healthcare, we hear the term, &ldquo;provider.&rdquo; Typically, we assume a healthcare provider is a doctor. But, if you look at insurance company definitions of health care providers, the term includes almost every branch of medical care - therapists, podiatrists, imaging centers, home-health agencies, hospice, the list goes on.
Ironically, the one person not on any official list of healthcare providers is &ldquo;you.&rdquo; A local wellness entrepreneur is changing that.
Kwame Terra is Founder and CEO of <a href="https://www.behrhealth.com/">bEHR Health Systems.</a> The company&rsquo;s principal product is an app directed specifically at Black Americans. The app doesn&rsquo;t replace professional healthcare providers, but it aims to put the user front and center in directing their own health outcomes.
The app store summary says, &ldquo;At bEHR, we aspire to create a healthcare resource free from the shackles of racism that infect our current system and seamlessly integrate health into Black culture. This isn't just a health app for tracking and enhancing well-being; it signifies the initiation of our enduring commitment to stand as Black America&rsquo;s health partner for life.&rdquo;
With roughly 14% of Americans &ndash; 48 million people - identifying as Black, and a 2024 Pew Research finding that 51% of Black Americans say they believe the U.S. health-care system was designed to &ldquo;hold Black people back a great deal or a fair amount,&rdquo; there would appear to be a ready market for this product.
When it comes to the traditional provision of healthcare, the consistently best-regarded group and most trusted providers of medical care, are nurses. Patients and doctors alike typically regard nurses as critical to patient safety and care.
There&rsquo;s also a critical shortage of nurses.
According to a recent report from the Louisiana Board of Regents, the state is projected to face a shortage of roughly 6,000 registered nurses by 2030. That&rsquo;s about 40% short of the workforce needed, if nothing changes. One local institution that&rsquo;s working to change that outcome is <a href="https://uhcno.edu/">The University of Holy Cross, on the Westbank</a>. Among its other courses, UHC has a dedicated <a href="https://uhcno.edu/nhs/nursing/index.php">Department of Nursing</a>.
RegisteredNursing.org &ndash; a nationwide organization of registered nurses &ndash; has rated UHC as the best nursing school in Louisiana. And UHC&rsquo;s nursing department is one of the principal focuses of the school&rsquo;s President, Dr. Stanton McNeely.
If we did a simultaneous scan of every news-talk radio station and every TV news channel right now, it&rsquo;s pretty likely we&rsquo;re not the only people talking about healthcare. But it&rsquo;s very likely we&rsquo;re the only people talking about a Catholic-college-driven solution to the nursing shortage, and an African-American-focused entrepreneurial venture aimed at sidestepping healthcare racism.
Even in something as ubiquitous as the healthcare debate, New Orleans manages to be, well, New Orleans.
Out to Lunch was recorded live over lunch at&nbsp;<a href="https://thecolumns.com/">Columns in Uptown New Orleans</a>. You can find photos from this show by&nbsp;<a href="https://www.lafleurphoto.com/">Jill Lafleur</a> at itsneworleans.com

Minority Nurse

New Orleans has been around for over 300 years. From almost the very beginning, bar rooms have been an integral part of our social life. There are French works of art depicting bar scenes as early as the mid 1800’s.

Starting in the 1970’s, photographers like Mike Smith and Lee Crum started celebrating the exteriors of barrooms, along with other street scenes, finding an almost romantic beauty in depicting decadence and decay in black & white.

The next iteration of uniquely New Orleans artistic reverence for our bar rooms comes from a company called We Might Be On Fire, a creation of textile manufacturer Shaun Watson.

Among Shaun’s collection of rugs, knitwear and pillows with bold prints that include alligators, birds, and flowers, there’s a collection of blankets that feature the exteriors of bar rooms. These aren’t artistic impressions or airbrushed glow-ups, they’re true-to-life, blanket-sized depictions of the outsides of bars, like Snake ‘n Jakes, F&M’s, Pal’s Lounge, The Saturn Bar, Buffa’s, Big Daddy’s, and many more.

Talking of barrooms, whomever keeps records of these things maintains we’re drinking less alcohol these days. Maybe they don't include New Orleans in the collection of this data: W\we’re without a doubt one of the most alcohol-centric cities in the US, if not the world.

You might think that in 300 years of drinking we’ve created every variety of alcohol known to man. Well, Paul Kelly has added one more chapter to the story of local booze brands by creating vodka using Louisiana sweet potatoes and cane sugar.

Paul distills his distinct sweet potato vodka at his distillery in Bogalusa. With the label Paul Kelly Vodka, it’s available at over 60 stores across the state, including Total Wine, Rouse’s, and a wide range of bars and restaurants.

Every evening, as the sun goes down in New Orleans, we’re faced with a decision. Do we stay home tonight? Or do we go out? If you decide to go out, there are a lot of places you can try Paul Kelly Sweet Potato Vodka. If you stay in, you can make a Paul Kelly Sweet Potato Vodka drink at home and curl up with a good book under your We Might Be On Fire blanket that features your favorite local bar. Is that the most New Orleans sign-off sentence in the history of radio? It might be.

Out to Lunch was recorded live over lunch at Columns in Uptown New Orleans. You can find photos from this show by Jill Lafleur at itsneworleans.com.

New Orleans has been around for over 300 years. From almost the very beginning, bar rooms have been an integral part of our social life. There are French works of art depicting bar scenes as early as the mid 1800&rsquo;s.
Starting in the 1970&rsquo;s, photographers like <a href="https://hnoc.org/research-collections/collection-highlights/michael-p-smith-collection">Mike Smith</a> and<a href="https://www.leecrum.com/lecrumgallery2"> Lee Crum</a> started celebrating the exteriors of barrooms, along with other street scenes, finding an almost romantic beauty in depicting decadence and decay in black &amp; white.
The next iteration of uniquely New Orleans artistic reverence for our bar rooms comes from a company called <a href="https://www.wemightbeonfire.net/">We Might Be On Fire</a>, a&nbsp;creation of textile manufacturer Shaun Watson.
Among Shaun&rsquo;s collection of rugs, knitwear and pillows with bold prints that include alligators, birds, and flowers, there&rsquo;s a collection of blankets that feature the exteriors of bar rooms. These aren&rsquo;t artistic impressions or airbrushed glow-ups, they&rsquo;re true-to-life, blanket-sized depictions of the outsides of bars, like Snake &lsquo;n Jakes, F&amp;M&rsquo;s, Pal&rsquo;s Lounge, The Saturn Bar, Buffa&rsquo;s, Big Daddy&rsquo;s, and many more.
Talking of barrooms, whomever keeps records of these things maintains we&rsquo;re drinking less alcohol these days. Maybe they don't include New Orleans in the collection of this data: W\we&rsquo;re without a doubt one of the most alcohol-centric cities in the US, if not the world.
You might think that in 300 years of drinking we&rsquo;ve created every variety of alcohol known to man. Well, Paul Kelly has added one more chapter to the story of local booze brands by creating vodka using Louisiana sweet potatoes and cane sugar.
Paul distills his distinct sweet potato vodka at his distillery in Bogalusa. With the label <a href="https://paulkellyvodka.com/">Paul Kelly Vodka</a>, it&rsquo;s available at over 60 stores across the state, including Total Wine, Rouse&rsquo;s, and a wide range of bars and restaurants.
Every evening, as the sun goes down in New Orleans, we&rsquo;re faced with a decision. Do we stay home tonight? Or do we go out? If you decide to go out, there are a lot of places you can try Paul Kelly Sweet Potato Vodka. If you stay in, you can make a Paul Kelly Sweet Potato Vodka drink at home and curl up with a good book under your We Might Be On Fire blanket that features your favorite local bar. Is that the most New Orleans sign-off sentence in the history of radio? It might be.
Out to Lunch was recorded live over lunch at&nbsp;<a href="https://thecolumns.com/">Columns in Uptown New Orleans</a>. You can find photos from this show by&nbsp;<a href="https://www.lafleurphoto.com/">Jill Lafleur</a> at itsneworleans.com.

How Sweet It Is

OUT TO LUNCH finds economist and Tulane finance professor Peter Ricchiuti conducting business New Orleans style: over lunch at Columns in Uptown New Olreans. In his 15th year in the host seat, Ricchiuti’s learned but uniquely NOLA informal perspective has established Out to Lunch as the voice of Crescent City business. You can also hear the show on WWNO 89.9FM.

OUT TO LUNCH finds economist and Tulane finance professor Peter Ricchiuti conducting business New Orleans style: over lunch at Columns in Uptown New Olreans. In his 15th year in the host seat, Ricchiuti&rsquo;s learned but uniquely NOLA informal perspective has established Out to Lunch as the voice of Crescent City business. You can also hear the show on WWNO 89.9FM.

Tulane finance professor Peter Ricchiuti conducting business New Orleans style: over lunch at Commander's Palace restaurant.

It's New Orleans: Out to Lunch

OUT TO LUNCH finds the country's most entertaining finance professor Peter Ricchiuti conducting business New Orleans style: over lunch. Each week Peter invites guests from the New Orleans business world to join him for a midday bite. CEO's, startups, managers, musicians, biomed needle-movers, tech success stories and entrepreneurs of all stripes put aside the elevator pitch and talking points and actually enjoy themselves. It's business, New Orleans style. 
You can also hear the show on WWNO 89.9FM.

OUT TO LUNCH finds the country's most entertaining finance professor <a href="https://freeman.tulane.edu/faculty-research/finance/peter-ricchiuti">Peter Ricchiuti </a>conducting business New Orleans style: over lunch. Each week Peter invites guests from the New Orleans business world to join him for a midday bite. CEO's, startups, managers, musicians, biomed needle-movers, tech success stories and entrepreneurs of all stripes put aside the elevator pitch and talking points and actually enjoy themselves. It's business, New Orleans style. You can also hear the show on <a href="https://www.wwno.org/show/out-to-lunch">WWNO 89.9FM</a>.

It's New Orleans: Out to Lunch

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