There was a time in New Orleans, that if you told someone you were moving into your new office, it was probably in Houston. Or Atlanta.

In the 1990’s, whole office buildings in New Orleans were empty. Leasing companies were in a reverse-bidding war – under-selling each other to attract tenants. A significant number of store-fronts downtown and on Magazine Street were boarded up. And that was before Hurricane Katrina brought us to our knees.

Those darker days are now dim memories. Today, business in New Orleans is booming. Companies are moving here. Businesses that are already here are growing. And even in a very tough nationwide retail environment, compared to other cities there are not a lot of storefronts for lease here.

Through this bust and boom cycle, Corporate Realty has remained one of the pre-eminent commercial real estate companies in the city. Their clients include Tulane University, Capital One Bank, DXC Technology, and the sale of the Place St Charles Building with its 1 million square feet of office space.

King of NOLA commercial realty Mike Siegel

Mike Siegel

The President of Corporate Realty is Mike Siegel.

Okay, so you’re moving into your new office. In New Orleans. You’ve negotiated a lease for the space. You’ve got 1,000 or 10,000 square feet. You’ve got 10, or maybe a thousand employees. Now you need to work out a floor plan for your new office. You need furniture. You need to get services like phones and internet hooked up and networked throughout your new space. You need to clean up after the previous tenants, and you need to juggle between the new space and your current place – while you keep your daily business running.

How do you pull all this off? Well, one thing you could do is, call Bart’s Office Incorporated. Moving you into your new office is what they do. Some of the clients Bart’s has worked with recently to move them into their new space include the Four Seasons Hotel, and the new International Airport.

Queen of NOLA commercial movers, Ashley Thibodeaux

Ashley Thibodeaux

Bart’s is a woman-owned and operated business. The company’s CEO is Ashley Thibodeaux.

Mike Siegel, Ashley Thibodeaux, Peter Ricchiuti Out to Lunch at Commander's Palace

Mike Siegel, Ashley Thibodeaux, Peter Ricchiuti

Out to Lunch is recorded over lunch at Commander’s Palace. Photos by Jill Lafleur.

Check out this lunchtime conversation with queen of residential realty Eleanor Farnsworth.