It’s New Orleans: Out to Lunch

Hosted ByPeter Ricchiuti

Tulane University A.B. Freeman School of Business finance professor Peter Ricchiuti holds court over lunch at Columns in Uptown New Orleans. Peter's lunch guests are New Orleans business people, from startups to CEO's, from artists to tech entrepreneurs, musicians to movers-and-shakers. New Orleans is on everybody's list as a great place to party but it's also on many lists of the best place to start a business. Peter's deeply knowledgable and equally levity-laden approach to business conversation neatly makese sense of the Crescent City's contradictions.

Green Orleans – Out to Lunch – It’s New Orleans

“Green” used to be just a color. Now it’s a way of life. Everything from household trash to billion dollar industrial plants can be “green” – meaning we undertake an activity mindful of the impact we’re having on our environment.

We use the word “green” because it’s the most ubiquitous color in nature. In cities we’ve coined a term for urban nature – Green Space.

In New Orleans we have one of the oldest and biggest green spaces in the country. It’s home to an 800 year old oak tree. A carousel. A sculpture garden. A farm. Festival grounds. And much more. You’d think we’d come up with a grander name for such a grand domain but we simply call it, City Park.

john hopper, christal white, peter ricchiuti

John Hopper, Chief Development Officer and Public Affairs Director of City Park, joins Peter on today’s Out to Lunch.

One of the earliest elements of the green movement was recycling. Which is typically plastic, paper and glass. In New Orleans we also recycle houses. And paint. At The Green Project you can get paint that was otherwise headed for the dump, and almost any piece of building material, salvaged from demolished or renovated houses.

john hopper, christal white

The Director of Development at the Green Project, Christal White, is Peter’s guest on Out to Lunch.

peter ricchiuti, greg harris

In the You Heard It Here First segment of the show, Greg Harris introduces his entrepreneurial concept for resurrecting the spirit of community with a dash of commerce, MEUSU. You can hear a longer conversation about MEUSU here.

The photos on this page were taken at Commander’s Palace by Chet Overall.

It's Bougie baby
Realtor Tracey Moore