Ralph Brennan, owner of Ralph Brennan Restaurant Group in New Orleans, La., is a legend in not only the New Orleans restaurant industry but also in the U.S. restaurant industry. As past president and chairman of the National Restaurant Association, and past president of the Louisiana Restaurant Association and the New Orleans Restaurant Association, Brennan strongly advocates for the Gulf seafood industry and the U.S. seafood industry.
SeafoodSource recently caught up with Brennan to discuss the state of the Gulf seafood industry, the reopening of the iconic Brennan’s and what’s new with Ralph Brennan Restaurant Group, which encompasses eight restaurants in New Orleans.
Blank: Late last year, you re-opened Brennan’s, which had abruptly closed after Brennan family squabbles. What are you doing differently this time around?
Brennan: It was unfortunate what happened, and the way it happened, but the restaurant has re-opened and the tradition continues. That’s the restaurant my family started with 60-plus years ago, and I wanted to keep it in the family. It would be a tragedy if it was owned by someone else. I have two of my children working there now. We are not doing anything different than other restaurants. It is all about our customers and our staff. We hire the highest quality people we can find, train them properly and they represent us in a fun, festive way. You have to take care of the customers. When you are dining in a restaurant – especially of Brennan’s caliber – it’s about the whole experience.
Blank: How is the New Orleans restaurant market? Are you planning to open new restaurants?
Brennan: We are not expanding right now; I’m overwhelmed. We took over another iconic restaurant and bar, Napoleon House, which is around the corner from Brennan’s. It was owned by a family for years; then, out of the blue I got a call from the restaurant’s CPA, a friend of mine, who asked if we could take it over. I’m encouraged by the market, even though we have a lot of new restaurants that have come on over the last few years. We spend a lot more time worrying about where customers are coming from, because there are so many restaurants.
Blank: You have been a longtime advocate of Gulf seafood. Is that primarily what you serve at your restaurants?
Brennan: We remain committed to Gulf seafood. We recently hosted a dinner at the James Beard Foundation’s Beard House with seven chefs and that’s all we served. We had a few media people there and they wrote about the experience and hospitality. Gulf seafood is the backbone of the cuisine here, and we make every effort to showcase it.
Blank: What are your seafood sourcing challenges?
Brennan: Seafood pricing is a challenge. Good fish has gotten to be very expensive; the prices are comparable to beef. At one time, seafood was always a value; but, there is so much demand now that prices are so much higher. However, we are having a great shrimp season right now.
Blank: Which seafood suppliers do you use?
Brennan: New Orleans Fish House, Inland Seafood, American Seafood [and others]. We rely on our suppliers; they send us high quality product and unusual product. It is very hard to do direct buying from fishermen because of the inconsistency in availability.
