Larry Morrow's next big project? A hospitality conference

The big picture: Southern Hospitality Weekend, which coincides with his annual birthday bashes, is Morrow's way to give back to the industry, he tells Axios New Orleans.

• "The success rate [in restaurants] isn't so great," he says. "I believe it's just a lack of experience and people not having the right information, tools, resources, and network to be successful in it. ... This was designed to really bridge the gap and to create a community of people that come together and share a lot of information with each other."

Zoom in: Morrow knows himself what it means to not be successful.

• His first restaurant, Larry's Poboys, was a bust, but he's said previously that it showed him what to do and what not to do in the business.
• And now, that experience is coming full circle with Larry's Poboys set to open sometime this year as Morrow's eighth New Orleans-area hospitality concept.

If you go: Southern Hospitality Weekend includes an opening night party and networking on Friday, and a daylong conference at the Contemporary Arts Center and Morrow's All Black Birthday Affair on Saturday. Full schedule.

• Conference speakers include investor Mike Novogratz, rapper and entrepreneur Rick Ross, Slutty Vegan founder Pinky Cole, food influencer Keith Lee and New Orleans chefs like Serigne Mbaye and Nina Compton.
• Conference tickets are free, but VIP and party add-ons are available.