LRA to honor 17 Restaurant Legends at Galatoire's Restaurant in New Orleans

The Louisiana Restaurant Association (LRA) is pleased to name 17 Restaurant Legends from Galatoire’s Restaurant in New Orleans. The recipients will be recognized at a special ceremony at the restaurant Monday, April 14, 2014 at 6 p.m.

The Restaurant Legends Award recognizes the long-term dedication of employees of the restaurant industry, with 20 or more years of service at one establishment.

“Galatoire’s is so fortunate to have such dedicated employees who have truly made this restaurant the institution it has been for more than 100 years,” said Melvin Rodrigue, Galatoire’s Restaurant President & CEO. “Without their service, we could not offer the impeccable experience our diners expect and deserve.” 

With 557 combined years of experience and service at Galatoire’s Restaurant, these men and women exemplify the satisfaction of making their jobs a lifelong and rewarding career.

They are:

• Linzie Brown, busser, employed for 51 years
• Arnold Chabaud, Maître D, employed for 23 years
• Michael “MC” Emmons, server, employed for 25 years
• Billy Fontenot, server, employed for 29 years
• Harold Fontenot, server, employed for 54 years
• Homer Fontenot, server, employed for 24 years
• John Fontenot, server, employed for 29 years
• David Gooch, manager, employed for 47 years
• Charles Grimaldi, server, employed for 28 years
• Fernando Gutierrez, cook, employed for 35 years
• Joann Nunnery, receptionist, employed for 31 years
• Roger Rojas, cook, employed for 22 years
• Richard Smith, server, employed for 30 years
• Bryant Sylvester, server and Maître D, employed for 27 years
• Dorris Sylvester, server, employed for 39 years
• Imre Szalai, server, employed for 40 years
• Murray Thomas, cook/Kitchen Manager, 23 years

“We hope to encourage younger workers to follow the examples that each of these special men and women have set for the industry,” said Stan Harris, LRA President & CEO. “It is more than evident that Galatoire’s fosters a sense of pride among their employees, promote from within and stress the importance of jobs within the industry.”

The Business of Bourbon Street -- Melvin Rodrigue

From Napoleonville to New Orleans, a pre-med major turns hospitality into his lifelong career and runs one of the most notable, old-line restaurants in the heart of the French Quarter.

Many successful restaurateurs initially had other careers in mind upon entering college. 2012 LRA Chair Melvin Rodrigue was no different. At 19 years old, the Napoleonville native was enrolled at Tulane University, with plans to study medicine. A sister’s suggestion, however, put Rodrigue on the path to where he is today.  In 1991, he found himself working at the newly-opened Palace Café on Canal Street.

“I was driving home every weekend and my sister encouraged me to stay in the city, get a job with her at Palace and the rest is history, really,” Rodrigue says.

Best laid plans…

In a few short months, he was running the kitchen at Palace Café with 30 direct reports.

“I just loved it…the excitement, the responsibility and working with some of the industry greats, like Dickie Brennan and my mentor, Steve Pettus.”

Pettus laughed in an interview, “I’m too young to be a mentor. But, in all seriousness, Melvin is a sponge. He listens, he thinks and he considers all angles before he reacts. That’s the mark of a truly great leader.”