It's Baton Rouge: Out To Lunch

We like to think of south Louisiana as the food capital of the world, and, certainly we re known for our cuisine, but just because someone knows how to prepare good food doesn t mean they know how to turn their culinary talent into a successful restaurant, catering operation or food related venture. Stephanie s guests on this edition of Out to Lunch would be the first to admit that. They re food entrepreneurs who have navigated the gulf between making good food and making money at it. Ameen Walker is relatively new to the food side of entrepreneurship but he s far from a stranger to launching businesses. Among other interests, Ameen is the owner of First Financial of Baton Rouge, a tax preparation and business consulting firm. Since early this year he has also been the owner of Everything Philly, a restaurant near the north gates of the LSU campus that specializes in the classic dishes of Philadelphia, Walker s home town. Jay Ducote is the epitome of a food entrepreneur. Jay is a local celebrity who has built

Romance is the spice of life. It s also a key to the success of certain businesses that are built on hearts and flowers, literally. Buzzy Heroman is a fourth generation florist in Baton Rouge and the owner of Billy Heroman s Flowers, which has three stores in the area. The store was founded by his parents, Billy and Janet Heroman in the 1950s, though the Heroman family has actually been in the floral business since the 1870s. Today, Buzzy and his wife Susie run their business, which is the largest florist in Louisiana. They now have the fifth generation of the family also working with them their sons Ben and Robert Heroman, and nephew Todd McBride. Season Vining is a romance writer, who has published three steamy novels with a fourth on the way. Season s stories are page turners with heroes and heroines who have dark pasts and hidden secrets but good hearts, deep down. Season began writing poetry while she was still just a child, growing up in Baton Rouge. Over the years, as she matured, so did her writing. T

So many of us dream when we re kids of coming up with a really cool invention. Not many of us realize that dream. How do you turn a great idea into a product that could change the world And how do you make money from new inventions and technologies Stephanie s guests on this edition of Out to Lunch have some insight into those areas. By day, John Pojman is a chemistry professor at LSU. By night, he s an inventor, who s created a remarkable product that is taking the art and industrial worlds by storm. It s a clay or putty that uses polymer reactions requires no mixing, doesn t dry out and hardens only when users want it to. In 2013, John created Pojman Polymer Products to sell his great invention, and in the years since he has sold his 3P Quick Cure Clay to art and industrial users around the world. Darcy Klug is chairman of Red Hawk Holdings Corp., which is based at the LSU Business and Technology Center and has several companies under its corporate umbrella including one that is making some of the coolest m

It s pretty well agreed that the early years of development are fundamental in shaping a child s future. That extends from playground to classroom, to career choices. If you want to Cultivate a culture where kids can see themelves as entrepreneurs you have to start early. That s what Lemonade Day is all about. It s a nationwide event with chapters all over the country, including Baton Rouge, that teaches kids the basics of starting their own business. What better way to do that than with a Lemonade Stand Jordan Piazza is executive director of Lemonade Day Louisiana, which has grown steadily over the past few years and now reaches thousands of school children around the state. Jordan knows a thing or to about entrepreneurism. He is the business manager for the Baton Rouge office of one of Baton Rouge s most successful entrepuerial companies Raising Cane s Chicken Finger. Along with his brother, Jordan is also getting ready to open a new restaurant a remake of classic Phil s Oyster Bar that their father owned a

The old saying "A man s home is his castle" has never been more true than today. It s no longer not just enough to provide shelter for yourself and your family, we also want to create a space that reflects our style in which we can live, work, and play. And that also looks really impressive. Baton Rouge has a long and venerable tradition in Southern vernacular architecture that has evolved over the past 20 years to reflect some of the most exciting new trends in the field. One of those leading the charge is Dwayne Carruth. Dwayne is the owner of The Front Door Architecture which has designed over 2000 homes in 14 states over the past two decades. Dwayne recently relocated his firm s offices here in Baton Rouge to a shared creative space he helped develop 1010 Nic. While Dwayne is designing residential exteriors, William Evans does interior design. William is the owner of Abat Jour Interiors and Design. The company has a storefront on Government Street and South Foster Drive, where they sell home accessories a

If you haven t heard of a "Maker Space" you ve been living under a rock for the past few years. "Maker" is one of the trendy buzzwords to enter the vernacular of late, and maker spaces are popping up in schools, universities and communities around the country. But what does it mean to be a maker And how do makers make money Stephanie s guests on this edition of Out to Lunch have some answers. Paul Claxton is the owner of Southern Collaborative, a bushiness coaching and consulting firm in Baton Rouge. He s also one of the co founders of the Mid City Makers Market, a pop up market for creative entrepreneurs painters, sculptors, builders, you know, makers They gather monthly to showcase their creations at a space on Eugene Street in Mid City in Baton Rouge. Their first event was in December 2016 and in the months since they ve grown bigger, attracting more makers and more customers folks who want more than a mall or Amazon shopping experience. Paul Claxton knows how to deliver that alternative he spent many year

Whether you re starting a business or growing a business, one of the biggest challenges you face is access to capital. Where do you find investors How do you get a loan It s a problem that is not at all unique to Baton Rouge, but in a mid sized city like ours it can be particularly challenging for entrepreneurs and business owners. Rob Powell is in the business of helping find solutions to the access to capital dilemma. He owns Cardinal Capital, a commercial loan and equity brokerage house. It s a relatively new venture for Rob, who has more than two decades experience with some successful companies, including Grand Casinos and Rain Forest Caf , both of which he helped take public in the 1990s. Rob has extensive experience in marketing and branding and his career has taken him around the world. Now he s back in his hometown of Baton Rouge helping connect business ventures to sources of capital across the country. When Rob is helping clients identify sources of financing, among the places he looks is the bank.

It s cool enough to have one successful entrepreneur in a family. What happens when you have two Stephanie s guests on this edition of Out to Lunch have a unique perspective on the topic of love and business. Greg Milneck is president and owner of Digital FX, which produces commercials and feature films, as well as post production work for the movie and TV industry. The company also rents equipment and leases out its 15,000 square foot LEED certified studio for film and video shoots. Greg founded the company nearly 30 years ago, and in the decades since it has been involved in hundreds of projects including some of the big budget films that have been shot here in Louisiana, and it s racked up dozens of awards. Anne Milneck, is the owner of Red Stick Spice Company, which sells spice blends, loose teas, small portions of freshly ground exotic spices, oils and vinegar from its story on Jefferson Highway in Mid City. Anne is a writer and professionally trained chef, and Greg s wife. Anne bought the Red Stick Spic

Technology has created challenges and opportunities for businesses. Some companies have had to totally reinvent themselves to remain relevant. Others, well, just invent an app. Patricia Brignac Talbot s business would belong in the former category. When her dad started the business, now called Baton Rouge Digital Products, back in 1955, copying documents was a very big technological deal. It was called "duplicating." Carbon paper was one of the high demand products, and mimeograph machines that made wet, smelly, copies were considered cutting edge. Today, Patricia has transformed the company, focusing on digital duplication and tech support that involves real humans providing real solutions, including showing up at your business to take care whatever problem you might have. Laney King has taken tech and invented something new. She and her husband Ryan are the creators of a smartphone app that helps folks across the Gulf South find the best and cheapest crawfish. It s called The Crawfish App and it features li

Fitness has evolved from being a craze back in the 1970s and 80s to becoming a way of life today. Here in Baton Rouge, entrepreneurs have come up with all sorts of interesting and innovative to keep customers in the Captial Region in good shape. Elle Mahoney is the franchise owner and Louisiana area rep for Orange Theory Fitness, a new type of fitness center that s taking the local market by storm. Orange Theory offers 60 minute group interval workouts that combine cardio and strength training with some pretty smart science pushing participants into the orange zone, where their heart rates are pumping and they re burning the maximum amount of calories. Elle opened her first Orange theory in Town Centre in Baton Rouge in 2016. Alicia Willemet is a veteran yoga instructor and the owner of the Louisiana Yoga School, which officially hung out its shingle earlier this year and offers training to the growing number of yoga instructors in the area. Alicia doesn t actually have a brick and mortar yoga school; rather,

Being a mid sized city in the deep south, you don t think of Baton Rouge as necessarily being a center for the performing arts. But there is a lot of hidden talent in this town, doing really impressive things on the stage and at local birthday parties Jenny Ballard is the managing artistic director of Theater Baton Rouge. Jenny began her career in Tennessee and came to Baton Rouge after several years in local theater there to pursue a master s degree in fine arts. After completing the program, she joined Theater Baton Rouge in 2014, and in the three years since has helped lead the company through many successful productions, a huge capital campaign and efforts to grow the company s volunteer base and its education programs. Venessa Lewis is also in the performing arts arena, though she s more likely to show up at a kiddie birthday party or a swimming pool. Venessa is the Louisiana Mermaid, complete with a fully functional mermaid costume that she wears for public appearances. Venessa also owns the Petite Prin

Sometimes in life you get what you always want. Or what you thought you wanted. And it turns out to be different than you imagined. Sometimes, life throws you a curve ball and your path takes a sudden detour. On this edition of Out to Lunch Stepahanie is catching up with two of her first Out to Lunch guests, whose careers have both taken a dramatic turn since she first met them in the summer of 2015. Richard Hanley is the owner of Hanley s Foods, a homegrown company whose line of all natural salad dressings is taking supermarkets by storm. When Stephanie first met Rick, he said his goal was to be the next Hidden Valley. He s well on his way last year, Walmart inked a deal with the mom and pop company and agreed to carry four of Hanley s five dressings at all 120 of its locations in Louisiana, as well as some of its stores in Arkansas and Mississippi. Richard and his wife Kate are still the only two employees at Hanley s and they make all their product by hand, so keeping up with the damand from a mega big box

Generational family businesses often have a notoriously determined matriach or patriach whose toughness started the business and maintains its success. You may have heard the old tale of the old family business partiach on his death bed. Eyes closed, with his dying breaths he asks who is around the bed. "My son, Seth, are you here " "Yes, dad." "My daughter Samantha are you here " "Yes, dad, I am." When the old man names every member of his family and discovers they re all present, he opens his eyes and says, "So who s minding the store " On today s Out to Lunch, Stephanie sits down with two members of generational family businesses. Mickal Adler is a member of the fourth generation to run Adler s Jewelry, the exclusive jewelry and gift store founded by his great grandfather, Coleman E. Adler. The store first opened in 1898 on Royal Street in the New Orleans French Quarter and quickly became the city s premier jewelry retailer. Today, Adler s has locations in Baton Rouge, and Metairie, as well as its flagship

Navigating the ever changing and uncertain healthcare landscape can be a nightmare for providers and businesses alike. It s also an opportunity for entrepreneurs, who have come up with ways to help others make sense of what s going on out there. Incredibly, two of the leading tech health companies in the nation are right here in Baton Rouge. Cindy Heine is President and Principal of SyncStream Solutions. It s a Baton Rouge based company that was founded three years ago to help employers both navigate the complex regulations governing the Affordable Care Act and to electronically file the massive amounts of documentation required by the law. In that short amount of time, the company has grown from a staff of three employees to more than 40, with offices in Baton Rouge and Metairie. It has also created its own proprietary software that it private labels to other companies around the country. Blaine Lindsey is the executive director, chairman and southeast division head of Aledade Louisiana, the local branch of

Nothing can ruin an otherwise perfectly great day like a bad hair day. It s a problem every woman can relate to. And one that two baton rogue enterpreneurs are helping to address. Boyce Clark has done what many would tell you is impossible. He has found a way to tame frizzy hair. In 2015, this one time nuclear physicist walked away from his job doing research at the north pole to help his frustrated teenage daughter bring her unruly locks under control and created a two step hair care product that blocks the frizzing effects of humidity without damaging the hair. In the nearly two years since then, Boyce s company, Lubricity Labs, has been placing its products in local salons, selling it on the internet, and growing more rapidly than Boyce have ever imagined. Brittany Allphin Smith is the owner of Rush Salon, a Paul Mitchell Focus Salon that came on to the baton rouge hair scene in 2015. Brittany also had a great dad. Her father Kermit was a law enforcement officer turned PI who, upon retirement, helped his t

Louisiana is dripping with unique culture and history. But packaging up the images, icons and natural resources that come from our land and its landscapes, and bottling and selling them takes a special kind of talent. Casey Delmont Johnson is the designer director of Roux Brands, a nine year old wholesaler of home d cor, gifts and dinnerware. Roux Brands is based in Port Allen and incorporates in its products a southern theme that tells the story and the history of the Deep South. Roux Brands started out as a smaller retailer in 2006 and over the years has evolved into a wholesaler that now supplies more than 1,000 stores throughout the Southeast. Casey is the creative force behind the brand. He is a native of Walker and a graduate of LSU, who has experience in the film industry, in marketing and with numerous style related periodicals. Elizabeth Holloway is a beekeeper and the owner of Bocage Bee and Honey, a homegrown brand that has earned raves in culinary circles around the state. Making honey, which Eliz

In a state that claims as its motto "Laissez les Bon Temps Roulez," it s not surprising that what today are euphemistically called adult beverages factor prominently in the culture. What is surprising is the growing number of distilleries and breweries based in south Louisiana including right here in Baton Rouge that are emerging on the local scene and making a name for themselves. Ricci Hull is one such distiller. He is the owner of Baton Rouge Distilling, a distillery that opened in April 2016 and has begun producing a line of fruit brandies, with plans on the way for a flagship bourbon and a rye whiskey. Ricci didn t set out to be a craft distiller; he s an electrical engineer by training, but a couple of years ago he and his wife, Natasha Krzesaj, realized after sampling craft whiskeys while traveling that they had the know how to get into the business. A distillery, after all, as Ricci will tell you, is really just a small scale refinery, where molecules are manipulated until they morph into something ne

Louisiana has a rich musical history, with New Orleans claiming to be the birthplace of jazz and Baton Rouge promoting its prominent role in the development of the blues. But what is the state of the music scene today, and how do you make a living in the field locally Samuel Ricciuti is a record producer based in Baton Rouge and the owner of Chez Kito Kat records, a production company he founded 10 years ago that has produced some 60 records from artists from all over Europe. He s also produced music concerts in Europe and Canada. Samuel s record label seeks out hidden gems ... artists that you might not otherwise find out about ... and takes credit for launching the careers of several musicians now thriving on the indie scene. Samuel does it all from Baton Rouge, where he is also a French teacher at the Runnels School. Samuel it s a pleasure to have you with us today on Out to Lunch. Thanks for joining me. David L. Harris is a jazz trombonist and vocalist, as well as a composer and arranger, who is making a

Few subjects are nearer and dearer to hearts than babies and children. On this edition of Out to Lunch Stephanie talks with guests who are Baton Rouge and nationwide experts on delivering them and educating them. Dr. Ryan Dickerson is the owner and medical director of The Birth Center of Baton Rouge, the only freestanding birth center in Louisiana. A freestanding birth center is a homelike facility not affiliated with a hospital. It provides family oriented care for healthy women before, during and after a normal pregnancy, labor and birth, and is run by certified midwives, doulas and nurses. Ryan, an OB GYN with Louisiana Women s Healthcare, spent two years developing the center and more than half a millon dollars to open it and in the three years since it is attracting a growing following. Sarah Broome is the founder of Thrive Charter School, a boarding school that caters to the underserved community in Baton Rouge. Sarah founded the school in 2011 when she was just 25. What makes Thrive so successful is it

Necessity is the mother of invention. If you ve spent any time in the kitchen, you ve no doubt thought, more than once, about building a better gizmo or gadget to help you cook, clean or organize your kitchen. Perhaps you ve even done it. But have you been able to get your invention before 250 million eyes on the QVC shopping channel Gaye Sandoz has. If you don t recognize Gaye s face from QVC you might recognize her name from the LSU Ag Center Food Incubator, which she runs. In her spare time Gaye is the owner of The Clever Kitchen, a company that has created the Microwave Barbecue Roaster, a microwave roasting pan that turns out a perfect rotisserie style chicken in 32 minutes flat. Whether the roaster will take the culinary world by storm just yet remains to be seen, but it s making a big splash on the QVC network, QVC.com and all over the internet. Michelle Schroeder also knows a thing or two about selling an invention on QVC. Her product, the Easy Greasy, is a specially designed strainer that connects to