The nonprofit Southern Smoke Foundation held a one-day symposium at the Hotel Saint Vincent in New Orleans on November 10. Entitled “Ideas. Insights. Industry Impact,” the symposium was presented by OpenTable with a host of other sponsors. The day included four panel discissions a roster of respected industry experts that were open and honest about the challenges and opportunities faced in the hospitality industry.
We missed the two morning sessions but heard good things about the first one in particular which was entitled “Can You Scale Soul? Growth without Losing the Magic” (sponsor: Tabasco®)/ Moderated by Kayla Stewart, Senior Editor, Eater, the speakers included Christa Cotton, CEO, El Guapo; June Rodil, CEO/Partner, Goodnight Hospitality; Max Goldberg, Co-Owner, Strategic Hospitality and Nina Compton, Chef/Owner, Compère Lapin.
The second session, entitled “Beyond the Back Office: How AI Tech Is Reshaping Hospitality Operations” (sponsor: Slang AI) featured an all-star panel: Ben Leventhal, Founder, Blackbird and Cofounder, Resy and Eater; Cheryl Paniagua, Open Table’s VP of Restaurant Sales and Services USA, and Alex Sambvani, CEO/Cofounder Slang AI. The Moderator was Marie La France, Co-Founder of Louie Louie, who deserves a special shout out as founder of New Orleans’ award-winning THC seltzer.
Based on post session comments from attendees, the content was excellent beneficial but still left a few people head-scratching because AI is evolving at a rapid pace. How to keep up? Remember the early days of social media? I look at AI as an investment for your business and your stock portfolio.
We attended both afternoon sessions.
“From Headlines to Hashtags: How Media and Marketing Are Evolving” sponsored by Substack Being a marketing specialist and writer, I was keen on some takeaways from the two -person discussion between writers, Emily Sundberg (newsletter: Feed Me) and Rachel Karten a social media consultant (newsletter Link in Bio).
The discussion itself left me with mixed feelings. I felt some points the speakers focused on were minutiae amid the bigger picture of “How to Build this restaurant’s Brand and Drive More Butts in Seats” which was the marketing direction I faced by my clients with when I ran my PR agency.
For example, there was a discourse about a restaurant that changed a specific dish from trout to salmon and one using a thicker menu paper. I know details are important, but really? My tip: print menus on paper with fonts that you can read.
One of the speakers dismissed the importance of spotlighting a wine program in a restaurant when we all know beverage sales can ring up the register in a big way.
My key takeaways from this session:
If you are budget-strapped for promotion, turn around your camera and start talking and filming what you are doing behind the scenes. “Your ordinary may be someone else’s extraordinary.” OK, so you may now start seeing behind the scenes videos of David and me planning our shows, arguing about backdrops and tasting even more wines.
Seek out collaborations with brands in other industries where there may be synergies. One of my favorites is when Magnolia Bakery and KEDs sneakers partnered. I bought the special pink sneakers.
I wrote in my notes: Acknowledge your challenges but promote your successes.” In other words, focus on positive content that engages audience. Debby Downers turn people away.
The last session entitled “Everywhere All at Once: The Multiverse for Modern Operators” (sponsor: OpenTable). All the speakers were on point and open about their challenges and successes.
Unlike the prior panel on new media, I felt this was a panel of industry veterans sharing hard-earned wisdom They included: Arjav Ezekial, Beverage Director and Co-Owner of Birdies in Austin, Texas; Ellen Yin, Founder/Co-Owner, High Street Hospitality Group, Philadelphia; Jasmine Moy, Restaurant Attorney, Brooklyn and Mia Devillier, Director of Operations/Partner, La Petite Grocery, New Orleans. The moderator was journalist, Brett Martin.
Takeaways included the importance of doing your homework before taking on partners and investors, not biting off more than you chew and looking at the different buckets of a businesses and balancing them. Finally, we are all stronger together than apart as an industry and sharing is supportive.
Mia Devillier expressed the pain of closing her restaurant, Justine, and learning to move past it. Dealing with staff retention was another key point. My overall takeaway is that, despite the challenges and often low margins, the restaurant industry is full of passionate people with hospitality in their DNA. They are committed despite working in a pressure cooker environment.
Fanning the Flames
Which is where the Southern Smoke Foundation is working its magic. This is an organization established for food and beverage industry workers to help any colleagues who may be facing unforeseen crises. This could include mental health challenges or financial insecurity and includes direct cash assistance, grant funds and no-cost counseling.
The Foundation is the brainchild of Houston Chef-Restaurateur Chris Shepherd who started in 2015 to raised money for the Multiple Sclerosis Society in honor of his friend and former sommelier. Antonio Gianola, who had been diagnosed with MS. Shepherd raised $463,000 in two years for the MS Society.
In 2017. The Southern Smoke Foundation (SSF) shifted its focus to provide financial aid to people in the food and beverage industry impacted by Hurricane Harvey, distributing $501,000. The movement has grown. As of 2025, SSF now provides no cost mental health counseling to nine states plus Washington DC.
The numbers shared at the symposium to back up the Southern Smoke Foundation’s mission were my favorite takeaway from the day:
$15,328,395 in funds through cash assistance and grants have been handed out since 2017.
$9,580 no cost counseling sessions have been provided since 2020.
Holy Smokes! This is a great cause and someone you know may be able to benefit from it. www.southernsmoke.org
