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THE HITS JUST KEPT COMING IN HOSPITALITY
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INCE THE PANDEMIC HIT in March of 2020, many industries have been hit hard by mandatory shutdowns and supply chain issues, but among the hardest hit was the hospitality industry, including the restaurant industry — New Orleans’ largest employer. Among the casualties of the pandemic so far have been bars and restaurants including: Liuzza’s Restaurant and Bar, Li’l Dizzy’s Café, Meauxbar, Gasa Gasa, Circle Bar, K-Paul’s Louisiana Kitchen, DTB, Cake Café and Bakery,
The two largest health care providers in the Greater New Orleans region continued the recent trend of growth through mergers and consolidations. In June, Ochsner Health announced a merger with Meridian, Mississippibased Rush Health Systems to become final in mid-2022 pending regulatory approval. Ochsner currently has 40 owned, managed and affiliated hospitals and specialty hospitals in Louisiana and Mississippi, plus more than 100 health and urgent care centers. Rush, which will be known as Ochsner Rush Health after the merger, owns six hospitals in east Mississippi and one in west Alabama, along with more than 30 clinics. The two systems have had a strategic partnership since 2019.
Morton’s the Steakhouse on Canal Street, two Robert LeBlanc-owned ventures — Cavan and Longway Tavern — Korea House, Trolley Stop Café, Avery’s on Tulane and Upperline. This past summer, however, business had begun to rebound a bit as restrictions lessened due to lower COVID-19 numbers. As cases rose, though, Mayor LaToya Cantrell instituted a vaccine mandate for those dining in and working in restaurants. In an article in the October 2021 issue of Biz New Orleans, Tony Saltaformaggio, general manager of one of Felix’s Restaurant Group’s two New Orleans locations, said that after being forced to close the French Quarter restaurant for over six months early in the pandemic, 2021 sales were looking really good.
“We have tremendous respect for Rush Health Systems and the work they have done to advance care in Mississippi. The announcement today is a natural progression of our existing partnership with Rush,” said Warner Thomas, Ochsner’s president and CEO. The merger is expected to expand access to specialty and sub-specialty services on the Gulf Coast, including cardiovascular surgery, specialized stroke care, and cancer treatment. “We are excited to join Ochsner Health and work with them to continue to improve quality and decrease costs while enhancing access to highly specialized care closer to home,” said Rush President and CEO Larkin Kennedy. In October, LCMC Health finalized its
“We were actually doing 30% over our 2019 sales,” he said. “Employees and guests were returning. But then the vaccine mandates hit, and everything just stopped dead. Suddenly, we had zero guests coming in the door.” Saltaformaggio said the company quickly moved to offer a $200 bonus — $100 for each shot — to encourage staff to get vaccinated, and it worked for 75 of the restaurant’s 104 employees. Business, however, he said, didn’t pick up for the next week and a half, and then Hurricane Ida hit, and the restaurant was forced to shut down again, this time for a week and four days before opening to limited hours. The arrival of a Category 4 hurricane on Aug. 29 was yet another blow to the already hobbled industry. Speaking to Biz New Orleans in October, Stan Harris, president and CEO of the Louisiana Restaurant Association (LRA), said closures were continuing. “I talked to a guy yesterday who told me he’s been forced to close one of his restaurants permanently and just heard from another person on the Northshore that they have to do the same thing,” he said. “For every big restaurant in this state there are 20 small ones that employ maybe 15 people or less and they just don’t have the capacity to adapt as quick to all these changes.” Moving forward, the hospitality industry continues to battle workforce issues and supply chain challenges, while holding out hope that tourism and festivals will return, and that the worst of the pandemic remains behind us. — KS
acquisition of East Jefferson General Hospital after 95% of Jefferson Parish voters were in favor of the proposition in the August election. The agreement calls for LCMC Health to buy the hospital for $90 million and invest $100 million over the next five years. “East Jefferson General Hospital becoming part of the LCMC Health family ensures the residents of Jefferson Parish will continue to receive high quality health care,” LCMC Health CEO Greg Feirn said in a press release. “Receiving the overwhelming approval of the voters was a testament to East Jefferson’s commitment to the well-being of our community and we look forward to all we accomplish together in the years to come.”
EJGH joins LCMC Health’s five other hospitals, which include Children’s Hospital New Orleans, New Orleans East Hospital, Touro, University Medical Center New Orleans and West Jefferson Medical Center. “East Jefferson General Hospital will continue to bring an unmatched level of health care to the residents of Jefferson Parish, now with the support of a large, locally-operated hospital system,” said Gerald Parton, EJGH president and CEO in an issued news release. “This partnership ensures the continuation of our legacy and the retention of thousands of jobs for some of the finest healthcare workers in the region.”— CP
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