Trader Joe’s was the top business story of the year in Acadiana, business editor Adam Daigle told Jan Swift of the Discover Lafayette podcast.
You can listen to their conversation here.
The popular specialty grocer first made headlines in January when Lafayette Consolidated Government’s Board of Zoning Adjustment approved measures for an unnamed project that sounded a lot like a Trader Joe’s store.
More news trickled in over the following months, and now the company’s purchase of the property to make it official is the next step.
Other top stories of the year were (in ranked order):
Northgate Mall sold. Local developer Jacoby Landry bought what was the first enclosed shopping mall in Lafayette in June for $2.8 million. Landry has the backing of the Lafayette Economic Development Authority in his project, which will include converting the mall to a mixed-use complex.
Buc-ee’s delayed. Last year’s top story of the year was initially thought to be open by now, but as often in business construction, the best-case scenario is of the least likely.
Now a report on the company’s webgsite pegs the Lafayette location opening in 2028, which means a best-case scenario construction timeline would involve starting later this year. Buc-ee’s isn’t talking, and there’s no building permit yet.
SafeSource Direct suspends operations. What was heralded as the return of American manufacturing four years ago has all but ended due to China’s stranglehold on the market for PPE.
The company announced it would suspend operations in August and put 541 people out of work. A month later it cut another 150 people.
Red Lerille dies. Lerille was an iconic figure in Lafayette and beyond. He worked every day at his fitness club and managed it meticulously, but in March he died at the age of 88.
