LAFAYETTE, La. — Many of us already know that downtown Lafayette has tons of great local dining spots to choose from—at least 36, according to Downtown Lafayette Unlimited's new downtown food district postcard.
The postcard features restaurants ranging from eateries with plate lunches to fine dining establishments to ice cream shops.
"Tourists come here all the time, and they're just asking 'What's a good place to eat?' and we're able to show them that, and they could pick anywhere they want," said Cristian Lambert, the manager of Borden's Ice Cream Shoppe.
The downtown food district postcard was designed by Aileen Bennett and distributed to all the restaurants by Downtown Lafayette Unlimited. It leads you on a tour of downtown Lafayette through local eating.
"We put a big pile out right by the register and, within a few days, they were all gone. I wish we had more," Lambert said.
A little down Rue Jefferson, another local spot known for ice cream, Sunday's Soda Fountain, has its own influx of visitors to share the postcard with.
"Just looking this map, with all the pictures and stuff, I think it's very easy to see what's around the neighborhood, so I think it's very helpful," said Gakuji Tozaki, a tourist from California visiting Sunday's.
"Downtown Lafayette's kind of small, right, in the whole scheme of things, especially when people are touring and visiting, so I think it's nice for them to actually see the footprint of all the places they can visit and be a little bit surprised," Setareh Delcambre, the owner and manager of Sunday's Soda Fountain.
The restaurants included on the postcard:
- Reve Coffee Roasters
- Jim Deggys Pizza
- Dwyer's Cafe
- La Carreta
- Tsunami
- Central Pizza
- The Flats
- Sunday's Soda Fountain
- Legend's Annex
- Ton's Downtown
- Vestal
- The Hideaway on Lee
- The French Press
- Wild Child Wines
- Agave Mexican Grill & Cantina
- Amis Grocery
- AcA Cafe
- Pamplona
- Pat's Downtown
- Pop's Poboys
- Carpe Diem! Gelato-Espresso Bar
- Rock 'n' Bowl de Lafayette
- Spoonbill Watering Hole
- Keller's Bakery Downtown
- Borden's Ice Cream Shoppe
- Cedar Deli
- The Bulldog
- Gary's
- Acadian Superette
- Johnson's Boucanière
- Coffeeweed Cottage
- Gather
- Brown Skillet
- Back Café
- Magnolia Pantry
- Njoy Curry Masala
Places other than restaurants are included on the postcard, too.
A few landmarks of downtown Lafayette highlighted:
- Downtown Lafayette Sign
- Rosa Parks Transportation Center
- Parc International
- US District Court
- Parc Sans Souci
- Fire Station
- St. John's Cathedral
- St. John's Oak
- Old Town Hall
"The main thing is just encouraging people to use it as a passport and really to use it as an opportunity to visit all these different restaurants in the summer and make memories and have full bellies and enjoy the food district for what it is, which is unique local dining experiences," said Jessica Hauerwas, the executive director of Downtown Lafayette Unlimited.
To get your own downtown food district postcard, visit the host stand or check out counter of one of the restaurants included in the list.
Some establishments, like Borden's, have already run out of their supply of postcards. Hauerwas said if/when another supply of postcards will be distributed is yet to be determined.
