Not too long ago, people who had an office job talked about “being chained to a desk.” Today, a desk job is the most liberating of all employment options. Your desk can be at your house, in a coffee shop, in your van, or at what’s come to be called a “co-working space.”

Co-working spaces are typically modeled after the re-imagined office that was born back in the day when Google and Facebook were startups. It’s a mashup of an office, coffee shop, private club, and event space. And the best part is, the boss is never going to walk in – because there is no boss. You rent the desk yourself on an annual or monthly basis.

Peter's guests on this edition of Out to Lunch both have co-working spaces – one on the Northshore in Covington, the other in New Orleans, in the Arts District.

In Covington, Bradley Cook is Co-Founder of Palette Northshore, modeled to some extent after sister Palette co-working spaces in Florida and New York. In New Orleans, Hugh Breckenridge is Community Manager at The Shop Workspace in The Contemporary Arts Center on Camp Street. The Shop also has locations in Salt Lake City and Brooklyn, New York.

If you listen to podcasts and radio shows about business, or keep up with the finance punditocracy on TV, you’ll hear people pontificate about “The Future of Work.” 

Like everything else about the future, nobody knows anything. Not for sure, anyway. What we do know, though, is the tyranny of the office cubicle is a relic of the past. Multiple studies find a significant majority of white-collar workers prefer some form of remote work, and over 30% say they would quit a job if they were compelled to show up at the office every day.

This demand for the freedom to work out of the office will more than likely ensure the popularity of co-working spaces well into any foreseeable future.

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.

Not too long ago, people who had an office job talked about &ldquo;being chained to a desk.&rdquo; Today, a desk job is the most liberating of all employment options. Your desk can be at your house, in a coffee shop, in your van, or at what&rsquo;s come to be called a &ldquo;co-working space.&rdquo;
Co-working spaces are typically modeled after the re-imagined office that was born back in the day when Google and Facebook were startups. It&rsquo;s a mashup of an office, coffee shop, private club, and event space. And the best part is, the boss is never going to walk in &ndash; because there is no boss. You rent the desk yourself on an annual or monthly basis.
Peter's guests on this edition of Out to Lunch both have co-working spaces &ndash; one on the Northshore in Covington, the other in New Orleans, in the Arts District.
In Covington, Bradley Cook is Co-Founder of&nbsp;<a href="https://palettenorthshore.com/">Palette Northshore</a>, modeled to some extent after sister Palette co-working spaces in Florida and <a href="https://www.palettecommunity.com/">New York</a>. In New Orleans, Hugh Breckenridge is Community Manager at <a href="https://shopworkspace.com/location/new-orleans/">The Shop Workspace in The Contemporary Arts Center</a> on Camp Street. The Shop also has locations in <a href="https://shopworkspace.com/location/salt-lake-city/">Salt Lake City</a> and <a href="https://shopworkspace.com/location/brooklyn/">Brooklyn, New York</a>.
If you listen to podcasts and radio shows about business, or keep up with the finance punditocracy on TV, you&rsquo;ll hear people pontificate about &ldquo;The Future of Work.&rdquo;&nbsp;
Like everything else about the future, nobody knows anything. Not for sure, anyway. What we do know, though, is the tyranny of the office cubicle is a relic of the past. Multiple studies find a significant majority of white-collar workers prefer some form of remote work, and over 30% say they would quit a job if they were compelled to show up at the office every day.
This demand for the freedom to work out of the office will more than likely ensure the popularity of co-working spaces well into any foreseeable future.
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/2025/02/17/rent-a-desk/">itsneworleans.com</a>.

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>.