Will downtown Lafayette continue growing? It’s possible with support of businesses, advocates say.

Lafayette’s downtown is positioned itself to level up, advocates say, but it only got there with the support of its local businesses.

“If you go up and down the street, you realize just how many locally owned operators we have here, whether that’s one of our 37 restaurants or dozens of retailers,” said Kevin Blanchard, CEO of Lafayette’s Downtown Development Authority, “This is an exciting time for us because that locally grown ecosystem is what led us to a couple of big wins.” 

From an 83-room hotel planned to go smack in the middle of downtown to programs aimed to keep its streets clean, to new businesses opening along and outside the main drag of Jefferson Street, the stories of downtown successes are certainly not few and far between, Blanchard said at the announcement of the sixth annual Small Business Saturday.

Acadian Estates and Customs recently opened its new expanded location on 100 E. Vermilion St. Suite 110, said owner Blake Gautreau, calling the decision a “no-brainer.” The store offers custom jewelry made right here in Lafayette along with fine estate sale pieces.

The business is supported by the local retail landscape that keeps residents downtown and through the multitude of events that attracts tourists, visitors and locals alike, Gautreau added.

And downtown has a lot of visitors to accommodate. According to data by the Downtown Development Authority, downtown captured about 2.3 million visitors, with just under 500,000 people coming from outside the Acadiana region or outside the state.  

“We’re here for the long haul,” Gautreau said.

That success is made possible through continued support from local residents, Troy Wayman, CEO of One Acadiana, said. The role of locals supporting locals is an outsized one, he added. The money spent at local businesses means that money stays in Lafayette longer.

Downtown’s growth did not come out of nowhere, Gus Rezende of Social Entertainment and Sans Souci Properties, said. It came from “incremental wins.” That means small businesses located on Jefferson and residents urging residents to keep it local.

Because of those small wins, downtown has been able to generate bigger wins  like a hotel, Rezende said.

“We want (downtown) to grow. We want it to be more exciting. Local small businesses are the backbone of any community,” Wayman said.

All the speakers at the event encouraged residents to do their holiday shopping downtown this Saturday.

If all those pieces fall into place, Lafayette residents can expect a downtown that grows with them, said Jessica Hauerwas, executive director of Downtown Lafayette, said. 

“I think that downtown is at the point that where we not just leveling up but really answering the call of what we’ve always known is that we’re the city center with culture and unique small businesses,” Hauerwas said.