Entrepreneurial Hospitality program named in honor of Greenbaum family
After graduating from Tulane University, Jerry Greenbaum (BBA ’62) grew the modest liquor store founded by his father into a family of successful hospitality businesses including a chain of beverage alcohol superstores and more than a dozen upscale casual restaurants across the Southeast.
Along the way, Greenbaum and his wife, the former Barbara Axelrod (NC ’63), also became two of Tulane’s most dedicated supporters. A past chair of the Freeman Business School Council, Greenbaum joined the Board of Tulane in 2011 and provided leadership and funding for major projects including the Goldring/Woldenberg Business Complex, the Barbara Greenbaum Residence Hall, Yulman Stadium and the Freeman School’s new online graduate program in Entrepreneurial Hospitality.
On Friday, Oct. 16, Tulane paid tribute to the Greenbaums’ lifetime of support by naming the new program in their honor. The Greenbaum Family Program in Entrepreneurial Hospitality will apply the joint lenses of entrepreneurship and hospitality to focus on the business principles needed to deliver an exceptional customer experience. The centerpiece of the program is the Entrepreneurial Hospitality specialization within the Master of Management program, which will welcome its first student cohort in January 2021 as the Freeman School’s first online graduate degree program.
“The creation of this program couldn’t come at a better time, at a better place and couldn’t have a better name — the Greenbaum Family Program in Entrepreneurial Hospitality,” said Tulane President Mike Fitts during a virtual meeting of the Business School Council. “New Orleans is a center of hospitality, Tulane is a center of entrepreneurship and the Greenbaums are highly successful entrepreneurs and models of hospitality.”
“Jerry Greenbaum was the inspiration for this program,” added Freeman School Dean Ira Solomon. “He provided the original key insights on the intersection of hospitality and entrepreneurship that drove the creation of this program. Quite simply, it could not have existed without Jerry and Barbara’s advice and counsel.”
In announcing the naming, Solomon also acknowledged the advice and support of Lila (NC ’76) and Doug Hertz (A&S ’74, MBA ’76) and Nancy and Mark Oswald (A&S ’76) in making the program possible.
Greenbaum is chairman of the Greenbaum Cos., a family-owned company whose businesses include commercial warehouses, beverage alcohol retail stores and restaurants. The beverage alcohol division currently operates six Green’s stores in Georgia and South Carolina, and the restaurant management company, CentraArchy Restaurants, owns and operates 14 restaurants in four states, including California Dreaming, Carolina Roadhouse, Gulfstream Café and Chop House New Orleans.
