We use numbers to measure all kinds of things. Inches, pounds, degrees, birthdays…
Numbers that denote height, weight, and temperature, are culturally neutral. Numbers that measure years are not. We give select numbers of years special significance. 18, you can vote. 21, you can buy alcohol. 65 you can collect social security.
We regard numbers that measure decades as milestones. One hundred is the big one. 50 years – half-way there – and 25 years – a quarter-way there – are big deals too. So, when 2025 rolled around we went looking for businesses for whom this quarter century point was significant. We found two.
Cafe Reconcile on Oretha Castle Haley Boulevard
Café Reconcile was founded in 2000. Their 25th birthday is 2025. They’re a restaurant and a workforce development program. They hire kids aged 16-24 who are at risk or might have already made regrettable decisions. They train these young people in all aspects of the hospitality industry, with the goal of graduating them into careers in New Orleans restaurants, hotels, and other places of employment beyond hospitality.
And talking of the significance of the number 25, Café Reconcile has been recognized by no less than the New York Times as one of New Orleans’ 25 best restaurants. The CEO of Café Reconcile is Kheri Billy.
Kheri Billy, CEO of Reconcile New Orleans, workforce development program and restaurant, Cafe Reconcile
Our other business for whom 2025 is a significant milestone is a small Mid City ice cream store and bakery with a giant reputation and massive following, simply named after its founder, Angelo Brocato.
The original, Angelo Brocato
Angelo Brocato’s timeless gelato and Italian pastry cafe
Angelo opened his store in 1905, making 2025 the business’s 120th birthday. Today, Angelo’s grandson, Arthur, owns and runs the business.
Arthur Brocato, Owner of New Orleans’ legendary Angelo Brocato’s gelato and Italian pastry shop
If you had $10 for every time someone said, “New Orleans is known for its food” you’d be able to pay for a lot of meals at Café Reconcile and buy a lot of Angelo Brocato’s ice cream.
But that sentence is a little misleading.
If you live here, you know it’s not our food we’re known for. It’s the history, the culture, the time, the love, and the intangible elements that create this unique city that somehow find their way into the food. It’s not the catfish at Café Reconcile or the Mint Chocolate Chip gelato at Angelo Brocato’s… Well, okay it is that – but it’s also people like Kheri and the quarter century of caring at Café Reconcile, and like Arthur, his family and 120 years of joy at Angelo Brocato’s that make New Orleans New Orleans.
Kheri Billy, Peter Ricchiuti, Arthur Brocato, Out to Lunch at Columns in Uptown New Orleans
Out to Lunch was recorded live over lunch at Columns in Uptown New Orleans. Photos from Columns by Jill Lafleur.
