Although each of us is free to believe whatever we want, when it comes to our personal finances, we tend to operate with a number of shared beliefs. One of these is the belief in the benefit of ownership. For example, it’s better to own your own business than be an employee. Financially, that benefit is not necessarily true. Many startup business owners go for years before they even pay themselves at all. And many employees make a lot of money. Emotionally and psychologically, though, it’s a different story. Because happiness is, by definition, how you feel – owning your own business can be the greatest thing ever – if you feel good about the inevitable challenges it brings.
Both of Peter’s guests on this edition of Out to Lunch have taken the leap from employee to owner. And both of them have businesses that are dependent not just on their business acumen, but also on their singular talent and taste.
Sue Zemanick started her career in New Orleans in 2003 as a chef at Commander’s Palace. By 2005 she was Executive Chef at Gautreau’s in Uptown New Orleans. In 2013 Chef Sue won a James Beard Award for “Best Chef, South.” In 2019 she opened her own restaurant in Mid City, called Zasu. In 2025, Zasu earned the Olympic Gold Medal of hospitality, a Michelin Star.
Sue Zemanick, Chef and Owner of Zasu, one of very few Michelin Star restaurants in Louisiana and the only one run by a woman. Earning a Michelin Star has changed the restaurant in a number of ways. For one, Chef Sue says, “We’re busier. We used to get in at 10 in the morning now we get in at 7.”
Margaret Sche came to New Orleans from Los Angeles where she had been a fashion stylist, merchandiser and trend forecaster. Margaret was surprised to find there wasn’t a women’s fashion store here that was truly reflective of the style of the city, and the flair of its female fashionistas. Shecorrected that gap in the market with a store, called The Saint Claude Social Club.
Today, the store is called The Closet by Saint Claude Social Club, and it has a whole different business model. It’s a fashion rental store – a real-world version of online fashion rental businesses like Rent The Runway and Nuuly, but with a local-focus. It has a curated collection of fashion ranging from Mardi Gras ballgowns to vintage finds that Margaret picks up in Paris.
Margaret Sche, Owner of The Closet by St Claude Social Club. It’s a pioneering new concept, a “closet of your dreams” where you can rent any of the over 1,000 items of clothing and have Margaret personally style you as part of your rental
When you start your own business making widgets, you hope to eventually get to a point where the widget factory rolls along and keeps making money even when you’re at Disney World. But when you start a business that depends entirely on you – like your own restaurant or a curated fashion boutique – you’re not just making widgets. You’re creating experiences for other people.
People don’t eat in a Michelin Star restaurant just to get enough carbs to get through the next 8 hours. And they don’t go to a curated fashion boutique to find clothes just to keep warm. The types of businesses Sue and Margaret are running demand the same kind of business skills as it takes to run a widget factory, and a whole lot more. Theirbusinesses wouldn’t exist without their particular talents, creativity, and imagination.
Michelin Star Chef Sue Zemanick and Margaret Sche, Out to Lunch at Columns in Uptown New Orleans. Magaret declared their lunch dish, “next level chicken.”
Out to Lunch was recorded live over lunch at Columns in Uptown New Orleans. Photos by Jill Lafleur.
