It's New Orleans: Out To Lunch

It s one thing to come up with an idea for a business and open it in Mid City or Uptown. It s quite another undertaking to launch and run a business in the 9th Ward. Or the Lower 9th ward. That s what Peter Ricchiuti s guests on today s Out to Lunch are doing. Mark Sanders is the owner and CEO of Ninth Ward Nursery. Rashida Ferdinand is Executive Director of Sankofa Community Development Corporation. Mark s nursery is in its third year. That s what is sometimes euphemistically called an "inflection point" the point where business takes off. Or comes crashing down. Rashida has been running Sankofa since 2008 and, with food markets, healthcare, and now a wetlands project, is a major contributor to the continuing transformation and preservation of the Lower 9th Ward. We don t often consider the implication of business in the 9th Ward, but it could be a vital a part of New Orleans future growth. Photos at Commander s Palace by Jill Lafleur.