245. David Cappello, part 1

245. Part 1 of our interview with David Cappello about his book  The People's Grocer: John G. Schwegmann, New Orleans, and the Making of the Modern Retail World. The People’s Grocer is a business-based biography of John G. Schwegmann, founder of a legendary New Orleans’ supermarket chain and the most innovative and courageous retailer of the postwar era. Virtually unrecognized in retail history, visionary Schwegmann pioneered the modern big-box concept. Even more important, his 1951 Supreme Court victory over “fair trade” laws played a key role in legalizing discount pricing. A marketer extraordinaire, Schwegmann’s offbeat and controversial ads and shopping bags came to symbolize the Crescent City. As a fierce consumer crusader, his fiery passions ultimately drove him into politics.

1. This week in Louisiana history. January 27, 1730 Jean Paul
   LeSueur leads 500 Choctaw Indians against the Natchez Indians
2. This week in New Orleans history. On January 28, 2013 the
   Loyola Avenue streetcar line opened, running for 0.8 mi on
   Loyola Avenue in the Central Business District from New
   Orleans Union Passenger Terminal (UPT) to Canal Street. The
   total length of the Loyola Avenue Line is 1.6 miles.
   Construction started in August 2011, and the line was opened
   in time for New Orleans' hosting of Super Bowl XLVII.
   
3. This week in Louisiana.
   Tabasco: A Burlesque Opera
   Saturday, January 25-28
   2:30 PM CST
   Le Petit Theatre du Vieux Carre
   616 St. Peter St.
   New Orleans, LA 70116
   Phone: 504.522.2081
   Website
   This 1894 opera centers on a Middle Eastern pasha who
   craved spicy food. Enraged by the blandness of fare provided
   by his royal kitchen, the pasha threatened to chop off the
   head of his French chef (actually a masquerading Irishman).
   The chef frantically searched the city for seasonings and ran
   into a blind beggar who gave him a mysterious potion. The
   concoction turned out to be Tabasco brand pepper sauce. Its
   piquant flavor satisfied the pasha and saved the day.
   
4. Postcards from Louisiana. Bruce listens to the Percy
   Harrison Band on Royal St. in New Orleans.
5. Postcards from Louisiana. Bruce and Stephen talk to Debbie
   Hollis and Lindsay Brown at the Women's March in Shreveport on
   January 20, 2018.

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David Cappello

The Percy Harrison Band