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Robert LeBlanc

@robertleblanc

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Liam: “Five minutes ago.”

A quick knock with family and friends in the French Quarter. It’s always worth moving things around to spend time with the people you love.

PS I look like Mr. Shoop from “Summer School” with this haircut…

#hometeam #pals #frenchquarter taken in French Quarter, New Orleans, Louisiana by @robertleblanc

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3 days ago

Competitors

Dave Kaplan with Gin and Luck (Death and Co., Close Company, The Rambler, and Municipal Grand). Lyon Porter with Urban Cowboy Hotels and Bars. Neal Bodenheimer with Cure Co. Alex Pincus of Crew (Grand Banks, Montero’s, Holywater). All of my “competitors.”

There is a perception amongst many people who are not in the hospitality industry that we are always competing with other bars, restaurants and hotels. That we compare ourselves to them favorably or unfavorably. But that could not be further from the truth. Ours is a really unique industry and some of my great friends and closest confidants in business are the people most would assume to be my fiercest competitors. We trade stories, share best practices and mistakes, help each other in trying times and situations, and even help to get each others’ projects started and off the ground.

The reality is that our only competition at LeBLANC+SMITH is the ghost of the best version of ourselves. If we are doing our best work, we will accomplish all that we set out to do, even while our “competitors” are doing their best work and accomplishing all that they set out to do at the very same time.

In this spirit, I want to extend a warm congratulations and welcome to my friend and our new French Quarter neighbor, Alex Pincus and his team at Holywater. It’s a really great spot, and they nailed just about everything involved (the team, the design, the menu). We are so very happy to have you as our neighbors in the Quarter.

I have been telling my closest friends in New Orleans this for the past three months now. The French Quarter is coming back, and doing so in a huge way. I truly think that in just one more year, most locals will be hanging out in the Quarter again on nearly a weekly basis. Another great spot like Holywater’s opening gives us yet one more great reason to do so. by @robertleblanc

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4 days ago

Danielle and the boys have sacrificed a ton for us to build things in Nashville. So many nights away from home. The stress and pressure. The uncertainty of learning an entirely new town. As such, it was incredibly moving to see the pride and joy they took in Barrel Proof Nashville and Love’s Alibi tonight and to see the love and appreciation they have for everyone who brings these spaces to life. We’ve had so many great days together lately, but this was one of the absolute best. Thanks to everyone at both spots for being so great to us. by @robertleblanc

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2 months ago

Tales of the Cocktail has always been important to me, and to the Food and Beverage industry in New Orleans. It celebrates all of the things we love about hospitality and New Orleans, and it comes at a time when bars and restaurants here need a real boost, both financially and in terms of our morale.

This year was particularly moving for me, though. It was a homecoming for so many great team members past and present who built these places alongside us. It was also a welcoming (and an immersion) for some of our key LeBLANC+SMITH team members in from Nashville and Atlanta. Seeing everyone altogether, enjoying the spaces and the group that they each worked so hard to create, was one of the more moving experiences I’ve had in a really long time. A huge thanks to Neal Bodenheimer, Gary Solomon and Gary Solomon, Jr., for fighting so hard to keep this light shining in our great city.

#leblancandsmith
#hometeam by @robertleblanc

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2 months ago

With every project we do at LeBLANC+SMITH, even our hotels, we cater to our neighborhood and locals in our cities first. Then we hope to draw in visitors who want to feel what it’s like to actually live in and be these cities. As such, being recognized by the Local Palate for Chloe Nashville means as much to us being recognized by any of the larger international publications.

I’m most proud that they wrote: “in a time when our city feels like it’s losing its character with every passing day, The Chloe feels like the boutique property we needed…” as this is exactly what we’d hoped to create in Chloe Nashville.

I’m also very clear that Chloe Nashville would never be possible without all of our wonderful partners, team members and our Nashville friends and neighbors who have believed in and supported us since this was just an idea. Thank you all so very much. We won’t let you all down.

The link to this piece can be found in my Bio and in Stories. by @robertleblanc

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3 months ago

I got to say a proper goodbye to Coquette over the weekend with several people I love dearly. I enjoyed so many wonderful experiences here, but what I always admired most about Coquette is its understated elegance and excellence. The phrase “talk softly and carry a big stick” always resonated with me, and Coquette embodied that as well as any restaurant in New Orleans. They will be forever remembered. taken in Coquette New Orleans by @robertleblanc

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3 months ago

A magical few days with Bear on the University of Michigan’s campus. This is a magical place for which we will now cheer wholeheartedly. Ann Arbor is severely underrated, and Michigan continues to be one of my absolute favorite states. “Thank you” to those who taught me of the value of traveling one-on-one with my children. taken in University of Michigan by @robertleblanc

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4 months ago

By now, many people know that Liam’s and my expansion with the bars and restaurants is driven by long-time team members with whom we share the same values. But few people know that Anna Giordano was the first to become our partner.

When we came up with this partnership model, she trusted and believed in us enough to say “Yes,” and we opened Anna’s together five years ago this weekend. Anna, Jacob and the team there created a spot in the Marigny that means so much to so many.

Everything that came next for Liam and me (The Will and The Way, Barrel Proof Nashville, Mahony’s, Love’s Alibi, and Barrel Proof Atlanta) was built on the foundation Anna laid. She’s an absolute badass. taken in Anna's NOLA by @robertleblanc

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4 months ago

Liam and I started Barrel Proof together 12 years ago. I always believed in it, but I had no idea that that one bar on the corner of Magazine and Erato would lead to so many other great spots (Will and the Way, Anna’s, Barrel Proof Nashville, Mahony’s, Love’s Alibi and Barrel Proof Atlanta) and great people in my life in my life. I also had no idea it would lead Liam to becoming one of my closest friends in life. Of all the things that we've enjoyed together, that's been the greatest win of all. #pals

Photo: @joogey by @robertleblanc

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5 months ago

Today, we learned that Condé Nast Traveller named The Chloe Nashville as one of its “Best New Hotels” in the world. We are one of nine in the United States.

I have so much appreciation for the LeBLANC+SMITH team in and the community in New Orleans that laid the foundation for us to create Chloe Nashville, for our Chloe Nashville partners who have always believed in this vision, the Chloe Nashville team who brings this vision to life, and to everyone in Nashville who has supported us from the very beginning.

One thing to note, though, as evidenced by how Kate Donnely described her experience, is that the City of Nashville is what really secured this honor. It’s a magical place. We just had to stay out of the way.

A tremendous thank you to Condé Nast Traveller for this recognition, and thanks to Kate for being willing to experience Nashville through The Chloe’s eyes. taken in The Chloe Nashville by @robertleblanc

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6 months ago

NYC Trip Part 1: Work (Mostly) by @robertleblanc

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6 months ago

I was asked to share my perspective as to why my experience at the College of Business at Loyola University New Orleans has been so meaningful, so Wayne Jones created this video to do just that.

In a bit of a full circle moment, I’ll be back at Loyola today in one of the very assembly halls that formed me as part of New Orleans Entrepreneur Week. My close friend Elizabeth Tilton, whose firm Oyster Sunday was crucial in helping us to rebuild LeBLANC+SMITH in a post-COVID world, Dan Meth, who founded Ingest and is one of the most innovative minds in the hospitality tech and AI space, and I will be discussing AI’s role in making the hospitality industry a far more sustainable one. I’m looking forward to sharing my experiences. More frankly, though, I am very much looking forward to learning from Elizabeth and Dan.

We will be speaking at noon, and the registration link can be found in my stories. taken in Loyola University New Orleans by @robertleblanc

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7 months ago