The Ralph Brennan Group, which runs Bacco, Red Fish Grill and Ralph's on the Park, had a one-page hurricane plan before Katrina. It was simple. The employees should grab the hurricane supplies from the closet. If the phones go out, use the pay phone in the back. “Those pay phones aren't even there anymore,” says the group's executive vice president Charlee Williamson.

Now, as New Orleans faces the second hurricane season since Katrina, it has a 62-page plan that covers everything from disp...