For this week’s episode, there are two “Brennans on Duty”: Lally Brennan and Ti Adelaide Martin, co-proprietors of Commander’s Palace. The first cousins discuss the past, present and future of their family’s beloved Creole restaurant, which debuted way back in 1893 before being purchased and revived by the Brennans in the late 1960s. The Commander’s team has planned a year’s worth of celebrations, programs, promotions and collaborations to mark the occasion.
about
Lally Brennan and Ti Adelaide Martin, co-proprietors of Commander’s Palace
The pleasures of food, family tradition, and restaurants run through Lally Brennan’s veins. The hospitality industry veteran counts as family eight members of the Brennan brood who successfully steer the Commander’s Palace family of restaurants.
She began as part of the business at the age of 13, working the front door at Brennan’s on Royal Street in New Orleans and helping with paperwork in the attic upstairs. She left New Orleans to attend Southern Methodist University in Dallas but eventually made her way back to her hometown to help with the restaurants.
New Orleans native Ti Adelaide Martin credits her mother, Ella Brennan, for setting the stage for her love of the family’s restaurant business, which includes Commander’s Palace and SoBou in New Orleans, as well as Brennan’s of Houston. “When I was a child, she was always hosting these lavish parties at our house,” she said. “There were always lots of interesting people there from around the country, many from the culinary world.”
