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- NOLA Brewing is releasing its first new beer, an double dry hopped IPA called Syncopation, to the market in 2 years — just in time for American Craft Beer Week, which starts on May 15. “While we are constantly releasing new beers in the tap room and as lagniappes, this is the first beer in a long time that we will have on rotation throughout the year,” says Kirk Coco, CEO and owner of NOLA Brewing.
- New Orleans may be getting an Employees Only, the legendary “speakeasy” that was opened in NYC by five friends in 2006. There have been plans for expansion for the last decade, but only now have those plans gone “gangbusters.” According to a report, “they opened a location in Singapore in the fall and another in Miami in February. In June they will open in Hong Kong and they are in talks for more locations in Atlanta, Austin, Chicago, Los Angeles, New Orleans, Seoul and Tokyo, among other cities. It’s similar to the Vegas model that restaurateurs have followed for decades: make a name for yourself at home, then cash in elsewhere.” [GQ]
- Whole Foods has booted Dr. John Elstrott, chairman of its board since 2009, responding to mounting pressure from investors as the pioneering company “faces the greatest crisis of confidence in its 37-year history.” Elstrott lives in New Orleans and is an Emeritus Professor of Entrepreneurship and the founding director of the Levy-Rosenblum Institute for Entrepreneurship at Tulane University’s Freeman School of Business. He is an LSU alum. [NYT]
- Cake...meet icing. The Southern Food and Beverage Museum will host a cake-decorating contest on June 24 when the second annual New Orleans Big Top Cake Competition. The contest is open to professionals, home bakers, and students. [NOLA.COM]
- Gnarly Barley Brewing will celebrate its 3rd anniversary with a party at the Hammond brewery from noon to 7 pm Saturday. The 2017 Gnar Fest also will mark the debut of the new year-round flagship IPA, Jucifer. [Advocate]
- Chicken Salad Chick, a southern-inspired, fast casual chicken salad restaurant, will open its first location in the New Orleans market in Mandeville on Wednesday, May 17 at 3803 Highway 22. Chicken salad and pimiento cheese figure prominently into the menu.
