Acadiana isn’t really known for barbecue. What you get from your Sunday plate lunch joint is what barbecue purists would call “grilling.” Or better yet, you’ll find pork steaks baked in a sticky syrup of barbecue sauce. Not exactly barbecue. But it’s delicious. It’s sort of weird to be purist about barbecue. It’s a way of cooking that springs from necessity. But it’s become an art form. Something people spend years mastering. And you can’t have masterful barbecue without a masterful sauce. And t...
Aug 09, 2022•28 min
Holy guacamole! We’re not at Tula Tacos for this edition of Out to Lunch Acadiana. We’re a few blocks down Jefferson Street, at Amis Grocery store . If you’ve followed Downtown Lafayette development over the last few years, that’s kind of a big deal. There’s always been this chicken and egg kind of thing happening with residential development and grocery stores Downtown. Developers wouldn’t build apartments because there wasn’t a grocery store. And grocery stores wouldn’t come because there were...
Aug 02, 2022•28 min
In the mid-20th century, neighborhoods on Lafayette’s northside looked a lot like neighborhoods communities are trying to build now. In places like McComb, Veazey and Fightinville, families could live, work and play on their blocks. The communities were stitched together by schools, churches — and businesses. Entrepreneurship was a big part of the fabric of the community: the family grocery store or barber shop. A restaurant or even a zydeco club. Fast forward to the 21st century and many of tho...
Jul 25, 2022•28 min
There is no shortage of podcasts. These days anyone can buy a microphone off the internet and start talking into it. The trick is finding an audience willing to listen. Passion is a great place to start. And there are few things people are more passionate about than music and food. So why not connect them? That’s been the recipe for success for Greg Bresnitz . It all started with a TV show — Dinner With The Band — but took off with his long running podcast Snacky Tunes , which he began taping wi...
Jul 12, 2022•29 min
There’s nothing new under the sun, the saying goes. And that’s absolutely true in business. Revolutionary ideas are often old concepts made new again. It’s why the 1990s are making a comeback. A smart entrepreneur might look back in time and realize that we fixed something that wasn’t broken. How about the family doctor. Time was, you had a personal relationship with your local physician: they knew more about you than the prescriptions on your chart. Today, a trip to the doctor’s office can make...
Jul 05, 2022•28 min
One thing you learn in business is that the future comes at you fast. As much as you try to stay ahead of the curve, the next big thing could already be around the corner. And if you’re not aware of what’s coming, it could spell the end. Just ask Blockbuster Video. Keeping up with trends can be a full-time gig. Smart companies who don't have an employee focused on the competition and the future, out-source. In Acadiana - and actually, beyond, one of the people companies turn to is Angela Cring. ...
Jun 28, 2022•30 min
What is Louisiana art? One definition might be — art that is unique to Louisiana. The market expects a certain version of Louisiana. And so we give consumers what they want: alligators, bayous, pirogues, French, spices and so on. People want authentic Louisiana. And what they think of as “authentic” doesn’t quite reflect reality. That’s the drawback of having a flavor that sticks out in the American melting pot: People want what they want. Let me propose another definition. Louisiana is art made...
Jun 14, 2022•29 min
We’re all looking for that next great business idea. And sometimes it’s hovering right above you. Or maybe sitting in the palm of your hand. Entrepreneurship isn’t always about inventing a new product or service. Most successful new companies are solving problems or seeing opportunities that should be obvious, but aren’t to most people. The solution can be a high flying innovation or it can be a commitment to quality. Whatever it is, it usually pays off for the folks who have the good sense to p...
Jun 07, 2022•29 min
Just because we’re 1,800 miles away from the other L.A., doesn’t mean you can’t have a career in Hollywood. State tax incentives have lured productions to Louisiana over the last decade or so. And that’s given a lot of local talent an opportunity to work in the industry without making the leap of faith in Los Angeles. You’ve probably heard of some big budget films and TV shows shot in Louisiana. I’m thinking of Morgan Freeman sightings and Blackham Coliseum’s cameo in the Secretariat biopic. Hol...
May 24, 2022•30 min
Acadiana is famous for the wildcatter mentality. It’s a frame of mind inherited from the early days of the region’s oil industry, when lone prospectors went drilling until they struck black gold. You can see the attitude just about everywhere. Lafayette has a really high level of entrepreneurship. Around 11% of the workforce is made up of business owners, a ratio competitive with innovation meccas like Austin, Texas. So it's not so much about what we're making, but how we make it. It's the spiri...
May 17, 2022•28 min
When you look good, you feel good. More and more men are catching on to that concept. In 2022, the men’s personal care industry was projected to hit $166 billion, according to market analysts. Combine that with growing consumer interest about what goes in the stuff you put on your face or beard, and it’s a prime opportunity for entrepreneurship. And MacRoyce Williams, is what you might call a serial entrepreneur. Most of the time you can find Mac cutting fades at Da Woss Ness Barber and Beauty S...
Apr 19, 2022•31 min
The Creole Nutcracker isn't a kitchen implement, it's a Creole version of the classic Christmas kid's ballet, Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker. And it comes from right here in Acadiana. To put this diversity-inspired ballet in current context, let's take a step back and look at where we are with inclusion in general. We tend to think of advocacy as something nonprofits and community groups do. But more entrepreneurs are blending business and social justice in their startups. This isn’t corporate soc...
Apr 12, 2022•28 min
The 21st Century has spawned an entire new class of entrepreneur: The influencer. No, it’s not just another word for celebrity. Influencers are more like traveling salesmen, except they don’t have to leave home. (Unless they’re selling travel.) It’s kind of an ingenious business idea. Startup costs are low. A ring light, a smartphone and an Instagram account is really all you need. Marketing firms are spending gobs of money on influencers now to hock their products. The sector now tops about $10...
Apr 05, 2022•28 min
Around 71% of the earth is water. Give it a few more years of sea level rise and we’ll top 80, no problem. In Louisiana, we’ve lived with water a long time. And for a lot of kids, that begins with swim lessons. At some point in nearly every child’s life, they get thrown into the deep end. It’s a good idea they know how to swim, so they don’t sink. And a staggering number of kids don’t know how to swim. A 2017 study found 65% of Black children, 45% of Hispanic children and 40% of white children d...
Mar 22, 2022•28 min
In 1515, Pope Leo X tried to cancel the bible. Well, Gutenberg’s bible. It’s hard to imagine now, but back then printed books were considered a threat. Literacy among the wider population could undermine the influence of the Church. In all, Gutenberg produced 180 copies of his Bible. Today, 280 characters on Twitter is how you change the world. So what room is there for the study of letters? And what about the original tweet: Short Fiction? Jim Lambert spent a career in law before putting his sh...
Mar 15, 2022•28 min
Do you always feel like somebody’s watching you? Well, it’s not just a dream — it’s the 21st century. Information is power, and there’s money to be made from gathering it. Or keeping people from taking it. Here’s a new buzzword for you: surveillance capitalism: the marketplace for information captured often without your knowledge - or consent - and traded for dollars. This has been enabled by innovations like cloud computing and the world wide web itself. But the reality is, trading in informati...
Mar 08, 2022•30 min
There’s no doubt that Lafayette is in an economic transition. Changes in energy are driving changes in the world. And Lafayette has, since the 20th century, been an American energy hub. You don’t have to look far locally to see the changes. The infamous oil bust of the 1980s nearly bankrupted the entire city. Banks closed. Bumper stickers read, “Last one out turn off the lights.” Fast forward: the 2014 bust hurt a lot. The metro area lost some 20,000 jobs — a nation-leading number. But here we a...
Feb 22, 2022•34 min
Louisiana isn’t just a sportsman’s paradise it’s a birders paradise. Maybe even an animal lover’s paradise. Birdy There are 25 rare bird species tracked by the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries: The American Oystercatcher, the Red-cockaded Woodpecker, the swallow-tailed kite, the Crested Caracara. Some good news: the bald eagle, is no longer threatened. So, who is doing the protecting? Well, it’s not just Wildlife and Fisheries. The effort takes some civilian help. The state permits...
Feb 15, 2022•29 min
Try this: Google “Lafayette dance studio.” You'll find 20 listings in Lafayette. For comparison, there are 12 McDonald’s. Dance is a pretty big industry here. The operators even have political clout. The Heymann Center was shut down briefly during the pandemic until the dance community raised hell. But most of those studios are for young people. And dance, or any type of movement, is a lifetime pursuit. There’s comparatively fewer opportunities for adults to age into a life with motion, especial...
Feb 08, 2022•29 min
All musicians want to be actors and all actors want to be musicians. That’s how you get David Bowie in the Labyrinth and the Bacon Brothers. To be fair, everyone wants to be in the movie business. Over the last couple of decades, changes in technology and tax incentive programs by state and local governments have made that somewhat easier for folks to do, without necessarily moving to Los Angeles full time. Wherever you do it, it’s not going to be easy though. And it can be lonesome too, if you’...
Jan 25, 2022•28 min
The 1990s were a fertile but culturally awkward decade — the playground of Gen Xers and grunge and flannel. It was also the birth of the internet as we know it. Companies like Yahoo and Google came of age during the dotcom boom, and so did a generation of IT professionals. They were the first wave of workers in the digital economy. Today, that generation is in charge. Information Technology is the backbone of practically every company, or perhaps an Achilles heel. Christiaan's guests today were ...
Jan 18, 2022•28 min
What’s the difference between an artist and an artisan? You might say one makes things for expression and the other for use. But in reality, the line is blurry. It’s a distinction without a difference for the people who are actually making things. Art and craftsmanship have always been in conversation. Creating for expression was made possible by creating for necessity. Ancient Mesopotamians discover glassmaking. Syrians blow it into household goods. Eventually, you get Dale Chihuly. But plenty ...
Jan 11, 2022•29 min
If you were born in or after 1984 you haven’t lived in a world without the Karate Kid. Before that date, Karate wasn’t always a fixture of youth activity in U.S. But, believe it or not, it was in Crowley, Louisiana! Way back in the 1970's, thanks to Acadiana Karate . Today, Stacey Knight Mejia and her husband Pablo run the dojo at a space in Lafayette. Pablo originally took over the business in 1978 and expanded it from its home in Crowley. Today, Acadiana Karate offers instruction in mixed mart...
Nov 30, 2021•31 min
What’s the future of the Louisiana worker? What a loaded question. Sometimes we get so caught up asking about the future that we forget that it’s already here. Chew on this: in 2020, mining for oil & gas accounted for around 1% of Louisiana’s GDP. That’s down from around 10% a decade ago. Louisiana has been in a pivot for a long time. And while we often talk about this change in terms of economic output, the real question is what happens to our workforce? Don’t count out innovation and manuf...
Nov 16, 2021•29 min
Imagine Acadiana without festivals. Between 2020 and 2021, we nearly got a taste of that reality. And for the most part it wasn’t pleasant. Gathering is a big part of the culture here. So when Covid made getting together dangerous, it also threatened a way of life. Festivals did what they could to keep the tradition alive. Going virtual was a workable substitute in a pinch, but the lift was still costly and the digital copy just couldn’t compare with the real thing. Christiaan's guests today nav...
Nov 09, 2021•28 min
When I work in a coffee shop, I don’t get much done. Honestly, I didn’t go to the coffee shop to work. That’s just a little white lie I tell myself to get out of the house. Coffee shops might be the easiest place to track down if you travel for work. You know there’s wifi, but the environment can be unpredictable. Is the cappuccino machine too loud? Too bad. Well, what if you could plug into a space meant for work. Not easy to do unless you know somebody in town. You’ve heard of co-working space...
Oct 19, 2021•28 min
For a couple of years, I’d say the most common investigation request I’d get was "Why doesn’t Lafayette recycle glass?" The natural follow-up, of course, is... "What happens to it?" Well...for most of the glass you use - it ends up in a landfill. Even the stuff you thought you were recycling all those years ago. And here’s a disturbing fact: Glass takes one million years to degrade in a landfill. Think carefully before you toss that High Life bottle in the trash can. There is another option. Not...
Oct 12, 2021•28 min
Swamps and the French language put up barriers to globalization in Acadiana for generations. At least that’s the conventional narrative. Even within our own community, we often underestimate just how wide the cultural landscape is in South Louisiana and has always been. Barriers persist. But there are lots of creative, thoughtful people chiseling away at them and mining for a common heritage. It’s not limited to art and cultural anthropology. Lafayette has explored international touchstones for ...
Oct 05, 2021•29 min
E-commerce is about speed. But not just for the customer, for the seller, too. The name of the game is striking while the iron’s hot. Get your product to the top of the search ranking on Google and you can move units, fast. Once a cat meme goes pandemic, it pays to be the seller who can deliver the hype on a mug or a t-shirt. The hard part is the logistics. Inventory takes investment and risk. What are you gonna do with all those cat mugs when the trend dies? Lafayette native Josh Goree’s compan...
Sep 21, 2021•29 min
If you don’t know or care much about wine, then the language around it can sound like Greek. Or French, perhaps, is more accurate. "Terroir," "appellation," "cuvee." It can all be overwhelming. Go to a restaurant, order a bottle. Which wine do you like? Red or white? For a lot of us, that’s as far as goes. Acadiana feels like Michelob Ultra country. People here drink light beers so they can drink a lot of beers. So maybe wine and wine culture would seem foreign to us...despite the French underto...
Sep 14, 2021•28 min
