Natural disasters not only leave physical and emotional wounds in their paths, they cripple towns’ economies and often generate anxiety and fear within a community. Growing up in Plainfield, Ill., part of Tornado Alley, summer meant tornado season. Nothing, however, could prepare us for August 1990’s massive tornado, which injured hundreds and killed 28 people, some of whom were my teachers, neighbors, friends and family. Despite our losses, my town immediately went to work rebuilding.

In this issue’s Slice of Life column, I speak to a few foodservice folks in a much larger city, New Orleans, who, too, know what Mother Nature can do to a community, as well as the importance of rebuilding. A destination city and veritable culinary melting pot, I caught up with people like Louisiana Restaurant Association’s (LRA) President and CEO Jim Funk, as well as several local restaurateurs we’ve covered.

Each told me what I hoped to hear: By and large, operators continue to do whatever it takes to restore their livelihood and bring back employees and guests. Some restaurants kept their staffs paid through recovery efforts. The LRA paid transportation for workers to return, and put up FEMA trailers in restaurants’ parking lots so they’d have a place to live.

It seems everyone you talk to, in so many words, says what Funk told me: “New Orleans is open for business.”

Through their encouraging stories, I hope people start thinking about New Orleans less in terms of Katrina’s devastation and more about how the community’s hope and hard work have set the stage for this vibrant city’s rebirth.

Has your business recently overcome a major hardship? We'd like to hear about it. Drop Senior Food Editor Erica Burke a line at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it