It’s New Orleans: Out to Lunch

Hosted ByPeter Ricchiuti

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, sometimes for fine dining others for pizza. From CEO's to startups, managers, musicians, biomed needle-movers, Silicon Bayou success stories and entrepreneurs of all stripes put aside the elevator pitch and the talking points and actually enjoy themselves. It's business, New Orleans style.
You can also hear the show on WWNO 89.9FM.

Cocktail & Sons – Out to Lunch – It’s New Orleans

Typically, nationwide businesses start out in a big city – where there’s a big market.  As the brand grows and demand grows with it, the business gradually spreads across the country to ever smaller markets – until eventually everybody’s within a few miles of, say, a Walgreens.

There are notable exceptions to this pattern. For example the largest retailer on Earth, WalMart, started out as a single store in Rogers, Arkansas.

In New Orleans we’ve gotten used to getting national brands long after they’ve made it big in other places. Trader Joe’s comes to mind. As does Target. And even WalMart itself is a relatively recent addition to Orleans parish. But with the entrepreneurial climate here in New Orleans about as hot as our summer, we’re not a brand afterthought any more. Quite the opposite. We’re a city where brands originate.

Lauren Myerscough

New Orleanian Lauren Myerscough launched a brand here, called Cocktail & Sons.

Cocktail & Sons makes all-natural, handcrafted syrups designed for classic cocktails. They’re used by professional bartenders across the country -and home bartenders as well – for making drinks like an Old Fashioned, Mojito, Tom Collins, Gimlet, and more.  They’re also used for making new-fangled modern cocktails, and non-alcoholic drinks. 

Peter Ricchiuti, Lauren Myerscough

Photos at Commander’s Palace by April Stolf.