It's Acadiana: Out to Lunch ItsAcadiana.com

If you’re gonna be first, you’re gonna take a risk. All the more so if you’re going to market with a foreign concept. 

People are creatures of habit. We look to the world we know to understand new concepts. And if something we’re trying is unlike anything we’ve tried before…that can be a recipe for failure.

Think of it this way: People who are remembered for being ahead of their time aren’t usually remembered for being wildly successful. It’s a contradiction in terms.  To illustrate: Imagine trying to explain yoga to a bunch of Cajuns in the 1980s. 

Movement

Yoga is so commonplace now, it’s hard to fathom. But that’s pretty much the story of Jerry Smith-Guidry, who was one of the very first people to teach yoga in Lafayette. A self-described “type A” personality, she discovered wellness and yoga in 1989 and fell in love. She went on to create the yoga program at Red Lerille’s Health Club here in Lafayette. 

Today, Jerry runs Acadiana Yoga & Wellness studio, which she founded in 2009. Acadiana Yoga offers a range of wellness services, including yoga classes, massage, reiki, pilates and more. It’s also the only Yoga and Pilates mat certification in Lafayette. 

Meat

It’s one thing when you’re introducing something new, and another thing entirely to introduce something misunderstood. Like bologna. Yes, bologna. And if you’re eating a slice of cajun smoked bologna made by Ross Brown, go ahead and get rid of any preconceived notion of how that sausage is made.

This is Bougie Bologna — High grade stuff made from pork shoulder. 100% free of byproducts, mechanically separated meats, and the unmentionables you usually find in bologna with the first name O-S-C-A-R.

Ross got into making bologna to convince his wife to like it. He learned the process from YouTube and started selling at a local bar — the Freetown Boom Boom Room in Lafayette. It caught on. And in 2022, Bougie Bologna was born. Ross quit his job offshore and has moved into bologna full time.

Out to Lunch Acadiana was recorded live over lunch at Tsunami Sushi in downtown Lafayette. You can find photos from this show by Astor Morgan at itsacadiana.com.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

I had a journalism student approach me a while back for a story. I asked him, “what kind of a journalist do you want to be when you grow up?”

He said, “A food writer. Because AI won’t take my job.” 

Won’t it though? I suppose if they create a neural simulation of what it’s like to eat boudin, they could. But the panic around AI is big; mostly because few people really understand it.

The models making headlines, like ChatGPT, are really only the latest in a long line of advances in technologies designed to assist work - that is make it easier on people. Most companies still rely on people. And they need people to be good at what they do. AI can make work more efficient, but it can also help companies select and train their employees. 

That’s the concept behind iCan, a company founded by David DeCuir. David spent years in the oil and gas industry and noticed that workforce development was a big problem. His company employed lots of people, but they struggled to make sure they all knew what they were doing.  So he developed a new training program for his employer and cut $2.5 million off their annual bottom line. 

Saving money is making money in business, so David struck out on his own. And iCan was born. iCan’s cloud-based software helps companies set up custom platforms that use chatbots to train employees on anything from HR guidelines to procedures. 

Since launching fulltime in 2022, iCan has expanded from the energy industry to work with utilities and processing facilities.

David grew up in Lafayette and currently lives in the Geismar/Dutchtown area.

Helping companies get better is a massive industry. We generally call them consultants. And their product lines can range from expert assistance to IT. 

If you’re in Lafayette, you’ve heard of CGI. And you probably think of it as a tech company.  But it’s better understood as a consulting firm, and it’s one of the largest in the world. 

Will LaBar is VP of consulting service for CGI and worked for the company out of Lafayette since 2000.  Will was CGI employee number one in the Lafayette market. CGI employs hundreds in the area. 

Will is in charge of CGI’s onshore delivery program. He leads a team that helps smaller markets get technology jobs, coordinating between local governments, business sectors and universities. 

Will grew up in New Jersey and has worked for CGI since 1998.

Out to Lunch Acadiana was recorded live over lunch at Tsunami Sushi in downtown Lafayette. You can find photos from this show at itsacadiana.com.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

America has had a complicated relationship with Downtowns. When we invented the suburbs in the mid-20th century, Downtowns were left behind, only to make a roaring comeback in the 21st century. 

That story should sound familiar for folks in Lafayette. Lafayette’s Downtown was left for dead in the 1980s and 1990s. It was practically a no-man’s land in the late 20th century but started coming back to life at the turn of millennium. 

That turnaround didn’t come from nowhere. In 1983, some local business leaders created Downtown Lafayette Unlimited, a nonprofit group that promotes activity and commerce in Downtown Lafayette, sort of like a chamber of commerce.

Most folks know DLU by its major public programs like Downtown Alive! and most recently the building of an inclusive playground at Parc Sans Souci.

Today, DLU is headed by Jessica Hauerwas, who took over as DLU’s executive director in 2023.  Jessica comes from a marketing background. She moved to Lafayette from Houma to go to UL and got jobs in marketing and business development at Acadiana Center for the Arts, Brand Russo and LogoJet. 

Jessica got involved in DLU as a board member, becoming board president. Her job today is to promote Downtown as a destination and community asset and to raise money for DLU’s programs and activities. 

American Downtowns can be pretty old. That’s why folks left for the suburbs in the first place: lots of cheap, new stuff. But Downtowns have great bones and great buildings. Putting them back into proper form is a great way to freshen up the built environment and create a sense of place.

For that kind of work, you’ll need an architect. Nic Bourque, is an architect’s architect. Fun fact: Nic was the first person to receive a master’s degree in architecture from UL. From there, he worked as a staff designer in Baton Rouge before returning to Lafayette to open his own firm in 2013. 

Nic joined veteran firm Holly & Smith Architects in 2022, where he now serves as its studio director. 

Holly & Smith have earned a reputation for restoring forgotten buildings, particularly in Downtowns and main streets. They work mostly on commercial projects, with some residential contracts mixed in. They’ve carved out a niche for themselves in sustainable design and specialize in using passive climate control systems, landscaping and shading to achieve comfortable interiors with a smaller carbon footprint. The firm has locations in Lafayette, New Orleans and Hammond.

Out to Lunch Acadiana was recorded live at the Acadiana Center for the Arts in  downtown Lafayette. You can find photos from this show  by Astor Morgan at itsacadiana.com.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Fitness is a big industry. Over the last decade, the global market for fitness has nearly doubled to around $100 billion. 

You’ve probably seen the results of that boom around town. Think of the world of 24/7 gyms and fitness centers, smoothie shops and personal trainers. That world is expanding not just in size  but in variety. And it’s drawing in ideas and disciplines from the world of the arts, too. There are fitness programs based on ballet and dance. They combine movement, performance, expression and a pretty good workout. 

That would be one way to describe aerial arts. You might be more familiar with how it’s applied to gymnastics or the circus: high flying trapeze acts or silk climbers. 

You can get a taste of the high life with a little help from Rachel Adams, co-founder and co-owner of Sky Craft, an aerial arts studio right here in Lafayette. Rachel started taking aerial arts classes in 2015 with Erin Welch, who is now her business partner. They co-founded Sky Craft in 2022. The studio offers group and private instruction, as well as aerial performers for hire — no pun intended. Rachel and Erin often do pop-up performances at major events like Festival International or nonprofit fundraisers. 

About 80% of Sky Craft students are kids, Rachel says. But interest among adults is steadily (ahem) rising.

Exercise might be good business, but the fundamentals of physical fitness are something most of us learn in school. Do you want a career in physical education? Well, it’s not really good enough to be the football coach anymore — you’ve got to know what you’re doing.

K-Lynn Mckey, is someone who can help you with that. K-Lynn grew up in Monroe and has lived in Lafayette since 2019 where she's a senior instructor in UL Lafayette’s School of Kinesiology and the program coordinator for K-12 Health and PE. In a nutshell, K-Lynn’s job is to teach teachers. And that job description is shifting fast.

K-Lynn’s program includes online instruction, which presents a challenge in and of itself: How do you teach someone to teach physical education in a Zoom room?  A 21st century problem if there ever was one.

Out to Lunch Acadiana was recorded live over lunch at Tsunami Sushi in downtown Lafayette. You can find photos from this show  by Astor Morgan at itsacadiana.com.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Who doesn’t want a taste of the sweet life? 

Most folks are looking for a chance to indulge. Even when times are tough. Maybe especially when times are tough. When the economy goes down, ice cream sales go up: in the two years after the 2008 mortgage crisis, ice cream sales went up 25%. 

even when times aren't bad, there’s never really a bad time for dessert. You can eat cake or frozen yogurt year-round in Acadiana. And that’s not just because it’s always hot. The local dessert market is on the move. Food trucks are flying around Johnston Street. That’s because a food truck is a great vehicle for a home grown dessert business. You can keep mixing and baking at home, without the trouble of operating a commercial kitchen and front of house. 

Nina Marie Charles has taken her craft as a cake artist from her house in Carencro all the way to Netflix. She was a contestant on Is It Cake in 2022. Locally, she’s known for her elaborately designed wedding cakes and for her food truck — Nina Creole where rolls are the name of the game: she makes them sweet and savory, with Louisiana spins on a fried egg roll.

Nina grew up in Carencro and worked in insurance and disaster response for several years before launching her cake business in 2016. Nina Creole was launched in 2021. 

Of course, if you’re going to indulge, why not go big and get all the toppings. Sweet Magnolias Creamery can bring the whole frozen yogurt experience to your backyard. And my guest Charity Lewis is the one driving the truck.

Sweet Magnolias is named for a mini pig on Charity’s mini farm. The mobile fro yo truck isn’t the only venture named for Maggie the pig. Charity also operates a nonprofit — Magnolia Kids Club — and a farmers market — Maggie’s Organic Market. 

Out to Lunch Acadiana was recorded live over lunch at Tsunami Sushi in downtown Lafayette. You can find photos from this show by Astor Morgan at itsacadiana.com.

Charity is originally from Detroit but moved to Louisiana after a 10-year stint in Arizona. 

 

She got the idea for the frozen yogurt shop from taking her kids to shops in Phoenix. And each summer, Sweet Magnolia’s serves a little homage to her time in Arizona: the prickly pear lemonade. 

 
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Ask any business owner in a small town: What’s the secret to success? And they’ll tell you: relationships. When everyone knows you, where you go to church and whether your mom can make a roux, you're trading on a reputation bigger than your own. 

Relationships drive business development and they can define success. That’s true if you’re selling barbecue sauce or underwriting commercial loans. Your word and your values mean something. So when a small town business endures, that’s usually a mark of strong community roots. Or a mark of making a high quality roux. Besides barbecue sauce, jarred roux is the secret sauce behind the longevity of Kary’s Roux and Pig Stand in Ville Platte.

Ross Lafleur is the general manager. 

Kary’s is well known for its line of specialty sauces and seasonings. You can find them at just about any grocery store in Louisiana, Texas, Mississippi and Florida. 

It started life as a restaurant. Ross’ grandfather bought the restaurant he worked in as a teenager. He and his business partner found success bottling and selling the barbecue sauce they served with their plate lunches. Ross’s dad, Kary, joined the business in the 1970s, and the Lafleurs splintered off to focus on manufacturing.

And that’s the business Ross now oversees. It comes with a lot of cooking. 21st century marketing is one thing, but the best way to sell a sauce, is the good old fashioned taste test. It’s also Ross’s favorite part of the job.  

Whether you’re selling jarred roux or running a restaurant, there’s a pretty good chance you’ll need somewhere to put all that money or maybe get a loan. And if you’re living in a small town, a community bank is a great option.

Banking, like a lot of other industries, is hot on consolidation. But community banks like St. Landry Bank and Trust still offer value to main street markets, where customers put a premium on knowing the people they business with. 

At St. Landry Bank, Shelly Fontenot is the person to know. She leads business development for the Bank, meaning she spends a lot of time on the road building relationships and giving customers a taste of what community banking is like. 

St. Landry Bank has been around a long time. It was founded in the late 19th century and is still firmly rooted in St. Landry Parish, with several branches in Opelousas and shops in Port Barre, Eunice, Scott, Carencro and in Lafayette. 

Shelly had an unconventional path to banking. She got a degree in Fire Science and worked in the health and medical resources field out of school. She joined St. Landry Bank after connecting with her boss through a local Kiwanis Club. Shelly is from Ville Platte and now lives in Pine Prairie.

Out to Lunch Acadiana was recorded live over lunch at Tsunami Sushi in downtown Lafayette. You can find photos from this show by Dylan Babineaux at itsacadiana.com.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.