Local healthcare workers and first responders are commonly eating out of vending machines and grabbing snacks wherever they can, while, at the same time, restaurants are struggling for business. Looking to provide relief to both groups, local author Troy Gilbert,…
THE BASICS MISSION Green Light New Orleans invests energy in people by assisting New Orleans residents in person, one household at a time. Volunteers install free, energy- efficient lightbulbs, rain barrels and backyard vegetable gardens to demonstrate that a mass…
Resilient, resourceful, and ready-for-action are the descriptors for most of us New Orleanians. And nowhere is that more evident than in the teaming of hospitality worker Monica Bourgeois and Blake Haney, owner of Dirty Coast, a community conscious t-shirt business.…
These are anxious times. We’ve been bombarded by messages, data, scenarios, facts and fictions about COVID-19, a pandemic that doctors and experts have never seen before. People want to know that their government/management/ownership care about them and their overall…
For more years than I care to admit, I’ve traversed this pot-holed city in a variety of beaters — unattractive, high-mileage cacophonous cars. Often, while stuck in traffic on Claiborne Avenue or Veterans Blvd, I’d muse about sitting in a…
I grew up in Milwaukee where the coming of spring bursts into one’s life with intoxicating hope and exuberant color. There was never anything subtle about the season. With sun yellow blossoms poking through the winter’s last snow, daffodils…
On October 5, 2009, at his home at the age of 17, New Orleanian Vijay Anand Hassan Nagendra lost his valiant six-year battle with brain cancer. “He was a…
New Orleans Chamber of Commerce's executive vice president and COO, Sandra Lombana Lindquist takes pride in her ability to cultivate and nurture businesses. She knows that she’s chosen the right professional calling – economic development. “I like to see things…
With balmy breezes and gentle sunshine, this Saturday it was easy to forget the city’s crime, boil water advisories and potholes. Mid-morning all along Judge Perez Drive preparations for the Knights of Nemesis parade…
It all started at Ralph & Kacoo’s with a temptingly tasty seafood platter served at the end of young Stan Harris’ first shift as a dishwasher. “Every day since has been an adventure,” says Harris, now president and CEO of…
The current drink of choice of hipsters, aging hippies, health enthusiasts and older millennials is kombucha. For years it could be found in health food stores, but now, more and more conventional grocery stores are carrying the slightly vinegary, bubbly,…
Imagine a small 3-year-old girl full of hope and endless possibilities. Now, imagine that same child, due to hard luck and unforeseen circumstances, sleeping in a car and living on the streets of New Orleans. Statistics show she’ll be sick…
Valentine Day’s 1959 in Miss Doyle’s third grade class — I was excitedly opening my many Valentine Day’s cards when out of nowhere, Sal De Luca shyly placed a pastel pink conversation heart on my desk. It said, “Be Mine.”…
January is National Mentoring Month. Mentors can make a positive difference in a young person’s life as they offer advice, share their life experiences, and help a young person navigate life’s countless challenges. Mentoring, at its core, shows young people…
This past Sunday in LakeVista, at the bustling Robert E. Lee Shopping Center, shoppers at Robért Fresh Market were queued at every register with their six-packs of beer, barbecue wings and freshly baked sugar-sprinkled King Cakes. All were fortifying themselves…
New Orleans’ first playground, first after-school program, first integrated pool, first kindergarten — Kingsley House is responsible for them all. Founded in 1896 as part of Trinity Episcopal Church’s effort to address the many problems inherent in multigenerational poverty, early…
Another great year is in the books. Once again, I’ve had the privilege, honor and joy to write about and celebrate some of the many business owners who make New Orleans such a phenomenal place to live. I wrote…
In 1890, at a department store in Boston, the first Santa’s helper began listening to Christmas wishes from eager children. James Edgar, the store owner, bore a resemblance to Father Christmas and he thought children should have a chance to…
I love our wonderful photographers who consistently catch this city’s unique essence. And, though there are many to choose from, I do have some favorites. I can usually pick them out before I’ve even read their photo credits. If the…
“We eat, sleep and breathe security,” says Ian Kennard, co-owner of Elliott Security Solutions (headquartered at 4650 General De Gaulle Drive). Darrin Elliott Sr. and Ian Kennard founded Elliott Security Solutions (ESS) in 2011. At the end of its first…
Creating art is a rigorous, incredibly personal and challenging business. Like all business owners, artists need to review their market, create a business plan and make opportunities that bring people to see their work. For many artists, their lives…
In 1993, Danielle Metz received three life sentences plus an additional 20 years for conspiracy to…
The local seafood stand, the hardware store and the grocery store on the corner, there’s little doubt that small businesses are the backbone of our local economy. U.S. small businesses are responsible for $4.8 trillion in GDP, which is equivalent…
Both fine cigars and premium whiskey are crafted with a great deal of care and attention; They’re meant to be savored. Aficionados will say partaking in either or both is all about relaxing and taking the time to enjoy all…
Most times I know exactly what I will write about in this blog with very few surprises. Someone sends me an interesting press release, or my editor has a good lead. I know what I’m going to find, because I’m…
Catching, cooking and eating seafood is a lifelong passion of Brian Landry, the chef/owner of QED Hospitality, a restaurant operations management group. “For as long as I can remember, on the weekend before Thanksgiving, my relatives on my mother’s side…
In 1965, an 11-year-old Robin Tate picked up empty Coke bottles from along the river front and from outside the A&P on Royal…
Tonight from 5 to 8 p.m., electric trikes and chariots will be weaving through the streets of the St. Roch neighborhood during the Frightening Fun Parade And Party. It’s free and brought to you by the Art Klub and the…
When she’s not playing volleyball, doing her homework, watching the Food Network, hanging with friends or performing liturgical dances at her church, Shelbi Varnado is tending to her burgeoning business, Shelbi’s Sassy Treats. Shelbi is a seventh grader at Boyet…
Nothing says fall like an old-fashioned pumpkin patch, and pumpkins are big business these days. According to the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service, nearly 65,900 acres of pumpkins were harvested in the United States in 2018, producing more than 1.5…
After more than 40 years, Pamela Marquis thinks she can claim New Orleans citizenship. A frequent contributor to Biz New Orleans and New Orleans Homes and Lifestyles, Marquis has decades of experience as a freelance writer specializing in business writing. Marquis spent many years working in the non-profit world and holds a master’s degree in social work from the University of Missouri.
Living in and loving the 7th ward, she spends her spare time walking her foster dog, playing with her brilliant granddaughters and dashing grandson and gardening.
