Acadiana is known for many things. From the outside, it’s mostly zydeco and alligators. But when you live here, one of the things you appreciate most is the pace of life itself. Folks take time to stop, talk, and listen to each other. So, it’s ironic that this relaxed attitude has produced one of Louisiana’s most successful…

There’s an old saying in business that’s half joke and half warning and can be applied to any location. In this case let’s say Acadiana.: “Do you know how to make a small fortune in Lafayette? Start with a big one.” Of course it’s much easier to lose money than to make it, but the…

Living in a place rich in traditions like Acadiana doesn’t mean everything stays the same. Quite the opposite. Here, tradition is something that creative and business people continually nourish and grow. Some literally, like Brian Gotreaux. Brian and his family developed Gotreaux Family Farms, growing traditional food – from veggies to tilapia – in a way…

Many of us have dreams of quitting the nine-to-five and doing what we really want. For many different reasons, that mostly remains a dream. Although it’s often said in sarcasm, Peter’s guests on Out to Lunch – Mark Boudreaux, Janie Varisco, and Skylar Manuel – are in fact living the dream. Their stories are very different,…

In Acadiana we’re quick to acknowledge the incredible talents of our Cajun and Zydeco musicians. Which is pretty natural. After all, if they’re not going to come from Acadiana, where are they going to come from? In other styles of music and the arts where we don’t have the field all to ourselves, the interesting…

Acadiana is known for entertainment. If you don’t play in a band yourself, someone in your family almost certainly does.  There’s music everywhere – from small house parties to giant festivals. But there’s more to life than music. For example, comedy.  There’s a genre of Cajun comedy, typified by our friend Boudreaux. Boudreaux usually appears to…

The conventional wisdom about starting a new business is, target a specific market. Dustin Melancon and his wife Jennifer decided to throw that idea out the window. Instead they set out to manufacture a product that can be enjoyed by Sophisticates and Punks. What product could satisfy that wide of a target market? Cupcakes. Sophi…

In the United States people congregate for entertainment in buildings, like multiplex movie theaters, or dedicated chunks of real estate like Broadway in New York, and Disney World in Florida. Here in Acadiana, we have a parallel universe of popular entertainment. None of it involves massive permanent construction. It requires only an open field or a…

The saying “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder” assumes a democracy of things. Meaning every object, from a speck of sand to a skyscraper, has the potential for beauty, if we decide it’s beautiful. Even if you believe that to be true, you have to admit that some objects are just more obviously beautiful…

Out to Lunch host Peter Ricchiuti shows up to Social on Johnston Street with nothing but a good idea: find guests at the restaurant, have lunch and talk business. What transpires is both a testament to the quality of Social’s diners and employees and the ready availability of characters and talent in every part of…