Axios New Orleans
November 10, 2026
1 big thing: 🎉 Abita gets spirited
Abita turns 40 this year, and Louisiana's largest craft brewery is mixing things up.
Why it matters: The company is finding new ways to stay relevant as drinking habits change.
The big picture: The craft beer market continued to shrink last year, writes Axios Denver's John Frank.
- The persistent downward trend is pressuring the once-booming industry to rethink its business models and expand into non-beer beverages.
Case in point: Abita launched Upbeat Vodka Cocktails this year, a line of ready-to-drink canned cocktails with multiple flavors.
- Abita blends the vodka with its signature artesian water and then cans the cocktails.
- The company tried a rum cocktail several years ago, but the line wasn't successful, says Heidi Guerra, Abita's vice president of marketing. She suspects branding and packaging were to blame.
The intrigue: Abita has always experimented.
- The brewery made a name for itself in the 1990s by putting fruit in beer (Purple Haze) before other brands were doing that widely, she says.
- Abita uses its taproom customers in Abita Springs and New Orleans as focus groups, she says.
- The brand has tested nonalcoholic beer and could introduce it at its taprooms, Guerra teased.
Zoom out: Abita is also building a business with contract manufacturing.
- Other companies pay Abita to use its production facilities to bring their brands to life.
- For example, an entrepreneur with an idea for an energy drink could pay Abita to brew and package it without investing in equipment.
- She declined to say what brands Abita works with.
The bottom line: "We're Louisiana true," Guerra says. "We use Louisiana ingredients, and that's one thing we don't want to lose sight of."
2. 🇲🇽 More international flights
Aeromexico will start direct flights between New Orleans and Mexico City next summer, officials announced yesterday.
Why it matters: It's a win for Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport, which has been working to offer more nonstop options at Louisiana's busiest airport.
The big picture: The Aeromexico flights start in June 2027 and will be offered four times weekly all year.
- There's currently more demand from Mexico City residents traveling to New Orleans than from New Orleans residents traveling to Mexico City, says Kevin Dolliole, the airport's director of aviation.
- "International routes are closely watched by the industry, so want more? Want to keep it? We have to support it," he said yesterday.
- Aeromexico offered this flight 16 years ago, but later ended service here, Mayor Helena Moreno says.
If you go: Mexico City is one of the world's largest cities and is known for its food, museums and cultural sites.
Zoom out: British Airways offers nonstop flights to London seasonally. Dolliole says the airline will add another flight this winter, in addition to its summer flights.
- Air Canada also offers direct flights to Toronto, while Southwest and Breeze fly to Cancun.
- Moreno said she talked with Air France during her recent trip to Paris in hopes of getting nonstop flights to New Orleans.
3. Fully Dressed: 🍇 Hail Bacchus
4. 🍎 New Orleans could close schools
5. 🪖Veteran homelessness declines
Veteran homelessness in Louisiana declined by 75% in the past 15 years, outpacing the national drop of more than 50%, according to the latest federal housing data.
Why it matters: The widespread declines represent significant progress in addressing homelessness among those who served, although some states continue to struggle.
What we're watching: How New Orleans leaders plan to restore funding for the city's low-barrier homeless shelter, which is on the chopping block.
Axios New Orleans
