Restaurants are pulling out all the stops to lure New Orleanians through the door this summer.

Why it matters: It's a mutually beneficial relationship — you get discounts while helping businesses survive the slowest part of the year.

Here are a few that caught our attention.

🧁 $1 cupcakes all month at Bywater Bakery.

🍳 $5 breakfast specials at Birdy's.

🍣 $75 four-course meal and 20% locals discount at Nobu.

🎒 Discounts for good grades at Le Petit Bleu.

🤑 15% off for locals at Elysian Bar.

🍸 $20 girl dinner at Dough Nguyener's and $30 show girl dinner at The Original Nite Cap.

🍕 Pizza Mondays at Dolfy's, inspired by the now-closed Ancora.

🦪 $25 two-course lunches at Arnaud's, along with happy hour and dinner specials.

🍷 3 apps and a glass of wine for $39 at Ralph's on the Park.

🍾 Caviar and Champagne happy meal at the Carousel Bar.

🦞 $25 lobster rolls and new happy hour options at The Bower, with Christmas in July specials coming soon.

🥐 Ayu Bakehouse has a pay-what-you-can promotion on Aug. 26.

🤑 Downtown deals: More than 30 businesses have discounts and promotions through August.

👩‍👧 For families: Kids happy hour at Vals and family splash day with food specials at Sunnies.

🍴 Summer menus at Dooky Chase's, Bmp & Grnd, Lost Coyote, Chi Chi's and Salon Salon.

🎉 New happy hour options at Bub's, Compère Lapin, Charles & Julia and Omni's Royal Bar.

🤩 Anniversary specials at Levee Baking, Brennan's and Tujague's.

The bottom line: If you have a favorite restaurant, now's a good time to show it some love.

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New Orleans' top economic development organization is looking for a new CEO after its leader announced a role shift.

Why it matters: GNO Inc. leads economic development for 10 parishes within southeast Louisiana.

Zoom in: The organization's current CEO and President Michael Hecht will take on an emeritus position in 2027, according to a press release.

• Hecht will continue advising GNO Inc. on "key projects" while he also opens an economic development consulting firm next year, he said.

Between the lines: Hecht, who has led GNO Inc. for 18 years, has lately been tapped for just about every high-profile task force requiring interagency project management.

• That includes Gov. Jeff Landry's ask to ensure the city was ready to host last year's Super Bowl LIX, and Mayor Helena Moreno's new Infrastructure Coordination Committee.

What's next: Hecht is still working on that committee, he tells us.

• "I'll still get to do all of the long-term, bigger projects," he says, but with "less of the daily management and meetings. ... The net result, I hope, will be continued impact, but with flexibility!"
• Meanwhile, the GNO Inc. board of directors will begin a search for its new president and CEO soon, the press release says.

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🎸 Dolly Parton partnered with Baton Rouge-based Community Coffee to create her new Cup of Ambition coffee brand. The brew will be available in her new Tennessee travel stop, which opens tomorrow. (Press release)

🎶 Missy Elliott will curate a tribute to Aaliyah at Essence Fest this year. The singer, who died in 2001, performed at the festival's inaugural event in 1995. (Essence)

💍 Mondo Duplantis, a former LSU pole vaulter and Olympian, proposed to his girlfriend during a Vogue photoshoot. Then, their wedding became another Vogue feature. Fancyyyy! (See the photos)

✈️ Flying somewhere? With an expected 1.25M people flying out of New Orleans between June and July, airport officials are reminding travelers to check parking options online before leaving.

NOPD has issued 64% more traffic citations this year compared to the same period last year, officials say.

Why it matters: The increase marks a significant shift after years when traffic enforcement declined amid NOPD's staffing shortage.

The big picture: NOPD recently increased staffing in its traffic division.

• This spring, the City Council also transferred parking enforcement duties from the public works department to the police.

By the numbers: More than 16,000 citations have been issued as of June 13, NOPD says.

• Its DWI unit has also had a 22% increase in DWI arrests compared to last year.
• NOPD had a "DWI saturation patrol" last week that resulted in 89 citations. There's another one Thursday.
• Fatal crashes are down 20% so far this year, NOPD says.

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New Orleans City Park will unveil its reimagined dragon slide this week at Storyland.

Why it matters: We were all sad when the original slide was removed last year.

The big picture: The new slide looks similar to the previous one, but it's smaller and has an enclosure at the top.

• Cathy and Morris Bart funded the return of this "cherished part of New Orleans childhood," City Park Conservancy president and CEO Rebecca Dietz said in a statement.

What's next: The grand opening is at 10:30am Thursday and will feature a reading of "Puff the Magic Dragon," free snoballs and samples of Morris Bart's new hot sauce.

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