The smiling faces you see before you are just two of the staff members at Biz New Orleans that I have the pleasure of working with every day. Maegan O’Brien is our wonderful sales manager and Antoine Passelac is our very talented art director. This photo was taken at a little soiree we had last month to celebrate the people behind the scenes who have made the first year of Biz happen — from the talented contributors, to the sales staff and advertisers, to the management.
In this, the month of giving thanks, I’d like to publicly proclaim my gratitude for Maegan and Antoine, and all of the Biz New Orleans team. As we begin our second year, I can honestly say there’s no other group of people I’d rather work alongside.
Thanksgiving marks the beginning of the holiday season, and that means food, family and friends. When it comes to food, there’s no city like New Orleans, which is why we felt it was time to call attention to the prevalence of successful local grocery stores in this city. The oldest, Langenstein’s, is close to a century old and still kicking, and at 45 stores and climbing, Rouse’s shows no signs of slowing down.
Fall also signals the start of the Broadway season. I know this intimately as, in a former life, I did marketing for Broadway at the Orpheum Theatre in Omaha, Nebraska. Omaha’s metro area has a population of just under 900,000 and only has three big theatres. Contrast this with the New Orleans metro area, which boasts about 1.2 million residents, but vastly more entertainment options — even before the recent wave of historic theater openings. Can we support them all? Journalist David Lee Simmons examines the issue.
Finally, I am excited to announce that our amazing photographer, Cheryl Gerber, who has been with us since the beginning, just released her latest book, “New Orleans: Life and Death in the Big Easy.” An incredible collection of local photojournalism, the book also features a forward by Lolis Eric Elie and an essay by Chris Rose. I encourage you to go grab a copy.
Happy reading.
