Meet Barrie Schwartz | Founder of My House Events

We had the good fortune of connecting with Barrie Schwartz and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Barrie, is there something you can share with us that those outside of the industry might not be aware of?
That chefs and food service industry professionals work so hard and put passion into everything they do! It’s a very manual labor intensive job with so much that goes on behind the scenes before the end product is shown. Handing food and working to provide an amazing experience for guests is one that we don’t take lightly and spend so much time preparing for!

What should our readers know about your business?
Originally from the suburbs of Detroit, I have been the proud owner of My House Events for the past 12 years, with the last 3 years being spent in both Los Angeles and New Orleans. I began my journey in 2011 when I moved to New Orleans after graduating from college. At the time, I was working as a waitress while trying to figure out my next steps. It was during this period that I started hosting impromptu pop-up events at my home in New Orleans partnering with chefs that were passionate about ideas that represented their backgrounds.
By 2012, I also began organizing food truck festivals and collaborating with talented chefs throughout the city. Under the name My House NOLA, we aimed to shake up the private events industry, which seemed saturated with uninspired menus and repetitive use of the same chefs. Recognizing the need for a change, we made a pivotal decision and rebranded ourselves as My House Events.
Today, My House Events works closely with stellar Black, Brown, LGBTQ+, and women chefs. Our approach is hyper-collaborative, ensuring that each event receives an unparalleled and refreshingly unique food and beverage experience that truly reflects its distinctive story.
With our headquarters in New Orleans, My House Events has grown to include a team of five dedicated individuals, including my business partner Danielle Lee, who serves as our CFO. In 2020, I made the exciting move to Los Angeles to expand our business and draw inspiration from the vibrant food scene that continues to awe me.

I don’t think any road worth driving on is a smooth one. There have been plenty of struggles, pivots, bumps, and vulnerable moments on this road. However, all of those moments have had big lessons and created necessary transformation to get where we are in the present. The original struggle of the company in the way beginning was food truck legislation in New Orleans and nationally. It was a hard road to navigate permits and growth in an industry that didn’t have much or good regulation. Later on in the businesses we dealt with a lot of growing pains and a push to morph roles and give room for new people to do things differently and mostly better than ourselves. The ultimate struggle and dark period was 2020 and the pandemic. We had to make a lot of hard decisions and have hard conversations. Present day, the pandemic is what brought me to New Orleans and allowed our NOLA team to solidify and come together to really forge into the future in 2 amazing cities. My business partner Danielle also gets a major shoutout for financially being so resourceful and responsible for figuring out how to get us through that period!

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Always a hike in Angeles Forest – Switzer Falls never ceases to amaze me! After that grabbing Chinese food in the San Gabriel Valley is a must. Chengdu Taste is awesome, same with Lanzhou Beef Noodle! A walk to The Grant near my house for a cocktail or coffee at Lemon Poppy Kitchen are my weekly stop overs. For a special meal my fiancee and I love Poltergeist! Going out in Korea Town would also be on my list – The Prince, and Here’s Looking at You. Sushi Gen for sushi! Another thing in my rotation is sunset picnics at Barnsdall Art Park. Another fun day outing is Long Beach – paddle-boarding at the Naples Canal and eating Cambodian food. One of my favorites is A & J Seafood. lLa is endless and amazing with adventures.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
My business partner Danielle Lee, she totally operationalized the businesses and has been along side me while i’ve focused on our vision. She turned the idea into a concrete service that we offer and a way that equitably supports the chefs we work with.

Website: www.myhouseevents.com

Instagram: www.instagram.com/myhouseevents

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/barrie-schwartz

Image Credits
Christiana Botic