Companies boost morale post-Katrina - New Orleans City Business

24 2005 Best Places to Work
8
Ralph Brennan
Restaurant Group
By Fritz Esker, Contributing Writer
The Ralph Brennan Restaurant Group, long an
important fixture of New Orleans dining, remains
a vital part of that scene even after Katrina.
The first state-sanctioned health permit issued
after the storm to a New Orleans restaurant was
issued to the Red Fish Grill, which makes up the
Ralph Brennan Restaurant Group, along with Bacco
and Ralph’s on the Park
The Red Fish Grill reopened Sept. 30 on
Bourbon Street. Bacco reopened Oct.1 and Ralph’s
on the Park reopened Nov. 9 on City Park Avenue in
a section of town that received considerable damage
from the storm.
According to Charlee Williamson, executive vice
president of the Ralph Brennan Restaurant Group,
her company viewed these openings as a first crucial
step to rebuilding New Orleans.
“It put people back to work and began to restore
some semblance of normalcy to the French Quarter,”
The Red Fish Grill reopened Sept. 30 at its Bourbon Street location. Owner Ralph Brennan sits in the forefront.
Bacco executive chef Chris Montero cooks up chicken rigatoni.
she said. “While many businesses were forced to
make cutbacks in their work force, we’re very proud
that we didn’t lay anybody off because of the storm.”
The Brennan Group tried to make the chaos of
post-Katrina life as easy as possible on its employees.
Brennan restaurants management teams were paid
throughout the evacuation period and hourly
employees received a stipend.
Employees of Brennan’s The Jazz Kitchen at
Disneyland in Anaheim, Calif., helped establish a nonprofit
called California Cares,which will bestow grants
to affected Brennan’s employees and their families.
In addition to these perks, Brennan’s employees
were granted a leave of absence until Jan. 31, 2006,
with a benefits schedule and tenure uninterrupted.
Roy Barre, general manager of Bacco and a resident
of eastern New Orleans, had 10 feet of water in
his home and “lost everything.” After the storm,
Barre and other Brennan’s general managers were
sent cell phones with out-of-state area codes, which
were vital in establishing communication.
Once Barre returned to New Orleans, Brennan
arranged for him and several other employees to
receive lodging at the W Hotel in the French Quarter.
An employee chat room also was set up on the
Internet for employees to check in and inform each
other of their whereabouts. Regarding the Brennan
Group’s treatment of its employees after the storm,