It’s Baton Rouge: Out to Lunch

Hosted ByStephanie Riegel

OUT TO LUNCH finds Baton Rouge Business Report Editor Stephanie Riegel combining her hard news journalist skills and food background: conducting business over lunch. Baton Rouge has long had a storied history of politics being conducted over meals, now the Capital Region has an equivalent culinary home for business: Mansur’s. Each week Stephanie holds court over lunch at Mansur’s and invites members of the Baton Rouge business community to join her. You can also hear the show on WRKF 89.3FM.

Maison Blog – Out to Lunch – It’s Baton Rouge

Though the world of retail fashion has changed dramatically in the last 20 years, the art of good salesmanship never changes. And it continues to be the key to many a successful business.

Hans Sternberg

Hans Sternberg is something of an expert on this topic. For 30 years Hans had a successful career in retail with his family’s beloved department store, Goudchaux’s. Then, in the early 1990s, Hans embarked on a second career with the creation of Starmount Life Insuarnce and Always Care Benefits. Now, at age 82, Hans has launched his third venture: High Flyer Resources. High Flyer is a new benefits administration company. 

Though Hans’ career path is varied, he tells Stephanie that the common thread connecting it all together has been good salesmanship and good service. 

Goudchaux’s was a retail fashion leader and trend-setter in Baton Rouge back in the day, as was Maison Blanche, its sister store in New Orleans. Today it’s a challenge for department stores to compete. But the brave new world of online shopping and digital retail has created new opportunities for folks like fashion blogger like January Hart Rizzo.

January Hart Rizzo

January has an apparel design degree and worked in the children’s apparel before launching her own fashion blog, and growing it in an online fashion influencer with 40,000 folks following her on Instagram

From Hans Sternberg’s family retail history dating back to before the American Revolution (!) to January Hart Rizzo’s online blog dating back to 2013, this is a fascinating look at Baton Rouge fashion and business.

Photos at Mansurs On The Boulevard by Ken Stewart.