BIOS

Lally Brennan

Co-Proprietor

The pleasures of food, family tradition, and restaurants run through Lally Brennan’s veins. The hospitality industry veteran counts as family eight members of the Brennan brood who successfully steer the Commander’s Palace family of restaurants.

She began as part of the business at the age of 13, working the front door at Brennan’s on Royal Street in New Orleans and helping with paperwork in the attic upstairs. She left New Orleans to attend Southern Methodist University in Dallas, TX, but eventually made her way back to her hometown to help with the restaurants.

Ti Adelaide Martin

Co-Proprietor

New Orleans native Ti Adelaide Martin credits her mother, Ella Brennan, the “grande dame” of her family’s restaurant business (which currently includes Commander’s Palace and SoBou in New Orleans, as well as Brennan’s of Houston) for setting the stage for her love of the restaurant business. “When I was a child, she was always hosting these lavish parties at our house,” she recalls. “There were always lots of interesting people there from around the country, many from the culinary world."

Meg Bickford

Executive Chef

Meg Bickford l has followed a path forged from hard work to arrive at the historic Commander’s Palace restaurant’s storied chef legacy, which has cultivated the likes of Tory McPhail, Emeril Lagasse, Paul Prudhomme, and Jamie Shannon.

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Dan Davis

Wine Guy

At the venerable Commander’s Palace in New Orleans, there is no such thing as a head sommelier. Dan Davis, the man who oversees the impressive 2,600-bottle list, is instead simply known as the “Wine Guy”—a moniker that embodies the restaurant’s philosophy of making sure guests enjoy every aspect of their dining experience without intimidation.

Steve Woodruff

Operations Manager

Steve Woodruff began his career with The Commander’s Family of Restaurants in 1989 as “Assistant to the Purchaser.” A lot has changed in our restaurant since then but Steve’s presence has been a constant positive attribute to our company ever since. Steve now runs the day-to-day operations of both of our New Orleans restaurants and works closely with the Chefs and General Managers to ensure smooth operations on every level of the business. Steve was born and raised in New Orleans.