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.”
