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Al Copeland was one of those guys who overreached with junk bond refinancing of his business and ended up in corporate bankruptcy, but he sure lived the high life when times were good. Everything about him - the homes, collection of exotic cars, aircraft, holiday lighting at his home and business, offshore racing boats, trophy wives... all of it reminded me of Carroll Shelby’s motto. “If a whole bunch is okay, then too much is just right.” He was quite a character.

I lived near the Bonnabel Blvd boat launch in Metairie back then, so I often saw Al and his team launching the various boats, including the turbine-powered catamaran.

I recall that he and his family retained control of the proprietary spice mix (produced in two facilities so nobody had the entire recipe) used by the restaurants and continued supplying that after he lost control of the larger corporation. I'm not sure if that's still the case.