On June 5, 2024 Gray Line New Orleans, the oldest and largest tour company in the city, kicked off their centennial year with a dockside press conference followed by a seersucker themed industry event on the Steamboat NATCHEZ. Top Gray Line Worldwide executives Gudrun Thorisdottir, President, and Dale Berridge, Chief Business Officer and EVP, flew in from Iceland and Denver to offer congratulations and commemorate the many awards the New Orleans team has earned over the years.
The Gray Line brand was born in 1910, when a restaurateur repurposed an old Mack Truck chassis, painted it blue and gray, and offered sightseeing tours of Washington, D.C. Gray Line expanded to other major cities and by 1926 there were local operators in New York, New Orleans, Chicago, Detroit, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Toronto and Havana. Today Gray Line operates in 700 locations on six continents.
In 1924 New Orleans, then known as “The Paris of America,” was the largest city in the South with a population of 387,219 in the 1920 census. The Toye Brothers, who already ran a successful Yellow Cab company, began operating Gray Line Tours. Many of the city tours in the 1920s featured the same iconic highlights as the tours today such as Jackson Square, Pirate’s Alley, beautiful architecture, parks, universities, cemeteries and night life.
Greg Hoffman, Gray Line’s Chief Administrative Officer, took the helm in 1987 when the New Orleans Steamboat Company acquired Gray Line. He described how the tours have evolved over the years and how Gray Line balances an offering of uniquely creative experiences with popular, must-see sights. He relayed the successes and struggles of the company, often in rhythm with the prosperous and painful eras of modern-day New Orleans history. Hoffman says technology and the times continue to drive change, but the basic formula for an amazing tour is the same. “We still rely on knowledgeable local guides creating memorable experiences by engaging guests with a perspective on history that has depth, nuance and a bit of humor,” he says.
General Manager Brent Hoeman detailed Gray Line’s expansion into the charter bus business since he came aboard in 2010. He said it was just after the New Orleans Saints won the Super Bowl and the nation saw that New Orleans, then five years post Hurricane Katrina, was open for business and ready for visitors.
Longtime Gray Line partners representing swamps, plantations, restaurants, jazz clubs and cooking schools participated in the event to showcase their attractions and share memorabilia with the New Orleans tourism industry. Retired tour guides reminisced and hospitality veterans regaled “the good ole days,” toasting with classic New Orleans cocktails, the history of which you would sip on the Craft Cocktail Walking Tour. America’s first cocktail, the Sazerac, and even the word cocktail began in New Orleans.
Aggie Canales, a sales & marketing manager since 2002, brought the ups and down into perspective in a toast that began with the history of seersucker. New Orleans often gets credit for inventing seersucker because a haberdasher popularized the blue and white suit we know today, however the origin of the fabric goes back to India in the 1700s. Seersucker is woven with slack tension, making one line smooth and one line puckered so the fabric is breathable and doesn’t require pressing. Seersucker refers to the fabric, not the pattern and the original pattern was striped white and tan. It was called “shir shukkar” Persian for milk and sugar, because it resembled gritty cane sugar and smooth milk in color and texture.
Canales continued, “In life and in business, we want everything to go smoothly and wrinkle free, but it’s the combination of smooth and gritty that make us durable, able to breathe through the heat and keep our composure. We thank God for the strength to get us through the gritty times as much as we are thankful for the smooth times. Gray Line, like the city of New Orleans, has been through it all, remaining resilient and beloved. Today, looking back over 100 years and looking forward to the next 100, we raise our glass and give glory to God for all that is the fabric of life!”
For more info, visit https://www.graylineneworleans.com.
Photo courtesy of Gray Line New Orleans.
