If you ever go to Houston: The owners of fine-dining restaurant Commander’s Palace have partnered with those of Reginelli’s Pizzeria to expand the casual Italian eatery beyond their shared hometown of New Orleans, Nation’s Restaurant News reports. Their first co-owned unit, and Reginelli’s ninth unit in total, opened in Baton Rouge on Jefferson Highway last month. It was the pizzeria’s second Baton Rouge location. The new partners say they’re now shopping for locations in Houston. Bruce Reginelli, who founded the first namesake restaurant with partner Bruce Erhardt in 1996, says they’re looking for 3,000-square-foot sites to accommodate the broad, table-service menu of pizza, pastas, sandwiches and salads. The original eight New Orleans Reginelli’s units are not part of this expansion deal, the partners say. Read the full story here.
Get what you pay for: Facebook is testing a product that will allow users to pay to make sure their friends see particular posts to the site. A Facebook press rep tells a New Zealand website the company isn’t sure what the price for this privilege will be yet. It’s testing the “highlight” feature at $2, according to Stuff.co.nz, which has a screenshot of it here. The company rep says the feature could end up costing more or less, or could even be free. As it prepares to go public in what has become one of the most ballyhooed IPOs in history, Facebook appears to be experimenting with new ways to make money off its 900 million users worldwide. Its ad business is reportedly decelerating, and the amount of money it’s making off games like FarmVille is no longer increasing.
Like a full-force gale: In hopes of keeping Mother Nature from literally raining on Joshua Ledet’s parade, American Idol says it’s moving up the time of a Westlake parade on Saturday that it’s organizing as part of the homecoming filming for the top-three finalist. Instead of 2:30 p.m., the parade will now start at noon. It will begin at the Westlake Multipurpose Center, 1221 Sampson St., and continue north down Sampson Street, ending at the Westlake High School. Ledet was named a finalist on Thursday night. Also part of the homecoming filming, a pep rally will be held in Lake Charles at 6 p.m. Saturday, during which Ledet is expected to show off the pipes that have garnered him national attention. Get the full details on all the events at the Lake Charles Convention and Visitors Bureau’s “Team Josh” website here.
