Maybe this has happened to you. You stumble onto a great new show on Netflix – and when you tell your friends about it, everybody seems to know about it already. But for some reason you never got the memo.
Peter’s lunch guests today don’t have shows on Netflix, but they both have unique stories and successful businesses that maybe you know all about, but in Peter’s orbit they’ve flown under the radar. Until now.
Haley Saucier, owner of Espiritu Mezcaleria and Cocina, a Mexican restaurant and specialty Mezcal bar in New Orleans Warehouse District
Haley Saucier is the owner of Espiritu Mezcaleria and Cocina. It’s a Mexican restaurant. But it’s Haley’s focus on Mezcal that sets her business apart – not just from other New Orleans restaurants but from bars and restaurants everywhere.
With over 100 types of Mezcal and tequila, Espiritu offers a specialty Master Mezcal Certification program that’s the only school of its type recognized outside of Mexico. It’s so legit that if you take the Mezcal course at Espiritu you get Mexican college credits. And that’s just one aspect of Haley Saucier’s intriguing business and life story.
Danielle Smith has an equally intriguing story and business. Danielle is the owner of Elektra Cosmetics. The company specializes in glitter.
Danielle Smith, Co-Owner of glitter specialty store Elektra Cosmetics. Headquartered on St Claude Avenue, Elektra’s glitter sparkles on faces and bodies across the city and beyond
Danielle was working in healthcare when she bought Elektra Cosmetics for $5,000 off a person she met at a burlesque conference. That was 2016. When Danielle moved to New Orleans she started selling glitter to burlesque performers and cheerleaders. Then she realized she’s living in a city where women don’t quit glitter when they age out of shopping at Claire’s.
Today Danielle calls Elektra Cosmetics, “glitter for grownups” and her average customers are women from 30-60, including soccer moms and sports fans.
Elektra Cosmetics has over 100 different types of glitter gels. They’ve supplied glitter to corporate clients like Nike, Crown Royal, and Dr Pepper. And, probably needless to say, Danielle has left her career in healthcare to dedicate herself to brightening the world with glitter.
People have various explanations for why things happen the way they do. Haley was kind enough to cover a couple of bar shifts for a friend – and that led eventually to her becoming an authority on Mezcal and owning Espiritu. Danielle’s unplanned encounter with a person who was selling a glitter company led her away from a life in healthcare and into a career in cosmetics.
Whether you put these inciting incidents down to the Universe having a plan for you, sheer chance, or simply a series of bold decisions, there’s no doubt that the hard work that both these entrepreneurs have put in since starting down these paths is what has turned these intriguing ideas into booming businesses.
Haley Saucier, Peter Ricchiuti, Danielle Smith, Out to Lunch at Columns in Uptown New Orleans
Out to Lunch was recorded live over lunch atColumns in Uptown New Orleans. Photos by Jill Lafleur.
