In New Orleans we often take pains to point out what makes us different from other places. It’s pretty common to hear comments like, “We’re not like the rest of the country” and “We’re not like the rest of the South.” So it’s ironic that two of New Orleans’ newest icons are representative of The South,…

You’d have to be a certain age and have a certain kind of musical taste to remember Peter Allen singing, “All our dreams will come true again, when everything old is new again.” Today on Out to Lunch Peter is talking with two business people who are taking old fashioned taste and recycling it for a…

When we talk about big events in New Orleans we typically say “Mardi Gras and Jazz Fest.”  Economically, though, if we’re going to bracket two events, we should say “Mardi Gras and French Quarter Festival.”  French Quarter Festival’s economic impact on the city has become massive. It’s reportedly bigger than Jazz Fest. French Quarter Festival…

If you’ve been shopping lately you might have noticed the growing number of stores that have creative chalkboard signs outside on the sidewalk. You might have also noticed similar creative chalkboard menus in restaurants.  There’s a good chance those groovy looking hand lettered chalkboard signs were made by a company called SmallChalk, the brainchild of…