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Discover Lafayette

Discover Lafayette

Auteur(s): Jan Swift
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  • Top Five Acadiana Business Stories of 2025 with Adam Daigle, Business Editor of Acadiana Advocate

    Top Five Acadiana Business Stories of 2025 with Adam Daigle, Business Editor of Acadiana Advocate
    Dec 12 2025
    In this episode, Adam Daigle, Business Editor of The Acadiana Advocate, returns to break down Lafayette and Acadiana’s top five business stories of 2025. With years of experience tracking economic trends, major developments, and the people shaping our community, Adam offers an inside look at what’s driving growth—and what challenges remain. From the long-awaited arrival of Trader Joe’s to manufacturing growth, real estate trends, and the future of North Lafayette, this conversation is packed with insight. A Post-Covid Economy: Stabilizing but Still Shifting Adam notes that Acadiana has mostly returned to pre-pandemic normalcy, but some sectors continue to adjust: Restaurants: Sales are outpacing inflation overall, but performance is uneven. High-traffic corridors like Kaliste Saloom are thriving, while many locally-owned restaurants still struggle with tight margins, rising costs, and increased competition.Retail: Still strong—people are spending, and parish retail sales continue to grow.Manufacturing: One of the region’s most promising economic bright spots. Well-paying jobs, steady growth, and diversification beyond oil and gas continue to strengthen the sector. Manufacturing Momentum—Even After Setbacks While Acadiana added thousands of manufacturing jobs since 2020, the closure of SafeSource Direct was a painful blow. The PPE manufacturer, built during the pandemic, couldn’t compete with ultra-low-cost Chinese imports. The result: 700 local jobs lost, many held by women and graduates of drug court programs. Even so, Adam emphasizes that manufacturing remains a major growth engine. Companies continue to diversify away from oil and gas, and Louisiana’s industrial corridor—from I-49 to Hwy 90—remains active and expanding. Real Estate & Housing Trends Adam continues to follow Lafayette’s housing market closely: Higher-end homes that once sat on the market are now moving again.Sales volume is rising month-to-month.Rental demand remains extremely high, driven by population growth and a historic low in first-time homebuyers (just 21% nationally, with the average of a first-time homebuyer being 40 years of age nationally).Lafayette continues to see brisk apartment construction to meet demand. The market is tight—but not dangerously overbuilt. Adam Daigle’s Top Five Business Stories of 2025 1. Trader Joe’s Is (Finally) Coming to Lafayette The biggest story of the year: Trader Joe’s is officially in the works for the corner of Bluebird Drive and Camellia Blvd. in Lafayette. Because the company is notoriously secretive, even the appearance of a permit created excitement. The land deal is expected to be finalized soon, with construction likely leading to an opening in late 2026 or early 2027. Fun fact: Lafayette will become one of only three cities in the U. S. that have both a Buc-ee’s and a Trader Joe’s. 2. Northgate Mall Sold to Local Investor Jacoby Landry North Lafayette’s aging Northgate Mall has new life ahead. Entrepreneur Jacoby Landry purchased the property with a long-term vision for transforming the site—not simply filling it with retail, but creating a mixed-use redevelopment with potential for office, residential, and community uses. Jacoby is rebranding Northgate Mall as “The Hub,” inspired by Lafayette’s nickname, Hub City, and the I-10/I-49 cloverleaf, which will be reflected in its new logo. The redevelopment will focus on mixed-use commerce, green spaces, and lighting to ensure safety and create a welcoming atmosphere. Years of deferred maintenance mean slow, steady work ahead, but the project is finally backed by a local owner committed to revitalization. The first major opening recently announced is Xtreme Health Club, a full-service fitness facility taking over the former Planet Fitness space. Owned and operated by Jacoby Landry’s sister, Rachel McCorvey, the facility will feature a nutritionist, weight management services, Botox, IV drips, sauna, hot tub, salt room, cold plunge, a health bar, and two indoor pickleball courts. Pilates and boxing fitness will also be offered, bringing Red’s Health Club-like amenities to North Lafayette on a smaller, community-focused scale. It’s expected to open in early 2026. 3. Buc-ee’s Delayed… Again The massive travel center planned for I-10 in Broussard is still happening, but Buc-ee’s has pushed back construction. The company is re-evaluating store designs nationwide, impacting multiple projects—not just Lafayette’s. New projected opening: 2028. Even with delays, the development will be a major economic catalyst, generating hundreds of jobs and significant sales-tax revenue. 4. SafeSource Direct Closure One of the biggest economic losses of the year was the shutdown of SafeSource Direct’s facilities in Broussard and Lafayette Parish. Global PPE competition, especially from China, made U.S. glove manufacturing unsustainable. Key impacts: 700 local jobs lostLoss of a major employer of ...
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  • Hans Nelson a/k/a ‘Fast,’ Co-Host of Morning Show on Big 102.1

    Hans Nelson a/k/a ‘Fast,’ Co-Host of Morning Show on Big 102.1
    Dec 5 2025
    Discover Lafayette welcomes Hans Nelsen, known on air as “Fast,” who co-hosts the morning show on Big 102.1 from 6:00 to 10:00 a.m. each weekday with CJ. Pictured are CJ and “Fast” (Hans Nelson), co-hosts of Big 102.1’s Morning Show Hans has been on the air in South Louisiana since 1985, starting as a USL student working the graveyard shift at a new urban contemporary station and going on to serve as on-air talent, program director, account executive, and sales manager at several top local stations. He also spent years as a stadium voice and play-by-play broadcaster, and his career has become intertwined with the story of local broadcasting in Acadiana. Hans was joined by his lifelong friend Sean Trcalek, General Manager of KATC TV-3, who was once known on radio as “Charlie Roberts.” The two reminisce about their early days as radio co-hosts and their lifelong friendship. Early Love of Music and the Magic of Radio Hans grew up in a home filled with very different kinds of music, from German organ to big show tunes, and a little boy’s transistor radio became his portal to the wider world of sound. He recalls: “I grew up in a household where my dad listened to German organ music and would play it throughout the house on Sunday afternoons. We had to listen to it whether we wanted to or not. My mom was really into big show tunes. ‘I’m Gonna Wash That Man Right Out of My Hair” and “The Sound of Music.” But his own soundtrack lived on his bike: “As a little boy, I had a transistor radio that I taped to the handlebars of my bike, and I would listen to top 40 in one way or another. 1972.” He loved the Eagles, Fleetwood Mac, and pop hits like “Billy, Don’t Be a Hero.” As he got older, he says, “I really wanted to be a musician, and I wanted to be a singer, and I can’t really do any of that. I can play a little guitar, but radio was this next opportunity, though I didn’t really know you could turn it into a career. I just thought it would be something I did for fun.” Learning Radio on the Graveyard Shift Hans’ first job was at an urban contemporary station, Foxy 106.3 (KFXZ). Growing up in New Iberia, he already knew some of the music: “It’s funny, you could be a rock guy, but also listen to the Gap Band and Kool and the Gang.” Even so, he had to go deeper into that catalog for a targeted audience: “This was deeper and a more targeted ethnic audience. But it was a piece of cake, because I loved music.” Being alone on the air at night was intimidating: “Well, I’d listen to so much radio. You try to imitate or emulate Casey Kasem, but I was so terrible. The fact that they let me stay past the first night…It was the middle of the night miracle.” He also remembers the mind games of that lonely studio: “You’re in a room by yourself and you can play mind games because you can either convince yourself that no one hears you, or that everyone’s listening. That one mistake, everybody’s going to hear it.” Hustling Through College Radio and 24-Hour Weekends Still in school, Hans got a weekend job at KVOL (1330 AM) and was quickly recruited by KSMB: “On my second shift, Scott Seagraves called me from KSMB and said, I’m listening to you. Do you want to come work for me?” He was “so hungry” to be on the air that he took on extraordinary hours. ““I would do six to noon on KSMB on Saturday and Sunday, and quickly added noon to six on weekends at KXKW. So, I worked 24 hours in two days and worked at a bar both nights. But I knew that I had the bug, and I turn it into a job!” That building is where he and Sean first truly connected and eventually became a morning team: “And Sean comes into that building, we end up being the morning team and here we are.” Teaming Up with Sean: Voices, Characters, and Parodies Sean came in as a young newsreader, hired to do newscasts in the morning and afternoon. Their chemistry led to a two-man show that blurred the lines between straight news and wild characters. Sean explains: “It started as you and Debbie Ray and me in news. Well, when Debbie left, it was you and me doing news. And I think it was just kind of like. Why do we need a third guy? You know, I still did the newscast, but it was a two man show.” Hans recalls the “credibility issue”: “Sean’s doing the ‘17 people were killed today’ delivering the news and then he’s doing this crazy voice five minutes later and people knew it was the same guy. But we somehow just moved past that.” The two displayed a gift for spontaneous skits and song parodies: “We both could really rewrite song lyrics. We could make custom versions of big songs at the time. Remember Michael Johnson’s ‘Give me wings, gimme wings.” It would end up, “Don’t give me legs. Breasts or thighs!” Hans says the creativity often felt effortless. “What was special about us? A special talent we both had was that there was no prep. We would sometimes ...
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  • Devon Faul – Bringing Magic to Acadiana

    Devon Faul – Bringing Magic to Acadiana
    Nov 28 2025
    We welcome Lafayette’s own master of illusion, Devon Faul, one of Acadiana’s most captivating magicians. Devon is known for blending sleight of hand with a deep sense of showmanship to create experiences that leave audiences spellbound. From close-up moments to full stage performances, Devon brings a unique blend of creativity, humor, and heart to his craft. We explore his journey into magic, the discipline required to master illusion, and the universal connection he creates through wonder and surprise. The Universal Language of Wonder Devon says that people of all ages speak the universal language of wonder and awe. In today’s world, he believes many people don’t get that feeling as often as they used to because everyone’s kind of in survival mode. Magic, for him, is a way to reach out to people in a universal way and give them a feeling that they haven’t had before, one that reaches you on a deeper level. Magic for Devon is “the human condition, psychology, philosophy, struggles, triumph.” Day Job at Stuller Devon’s day job is work at Stuller, the largest jewelry manufacturer and distributor in North America headquartered in Lafayette. He calls it “kind of a dream,” explaining that they take people seriously and foster an environment where employees “feel like you can be a person. I’m super lucky to be working with them.” How Magic Began: “A Place of Vulnerability” Devon began devoloping his magic craft at age ten years of age, but not in the traditional way. He didn’t get hooked by a magic kit or a grandparent pulling a coin from behind his ear. Instead, he says “it actually started because my dad was in the oil field, so we moved a lot”—Wyoming, Louisiana, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Texas.” “I was always the weird, quiet, out-of-state kid. You know, Wyoming people are very different than Louisiana people, who are very different from Virginia people. It’s like their own countries. Each state is its own territory.” Frequent moves and feeling out of place led to bullying: “People want to tear down that which they do not understand.” As a ten-year-old, he imagined that maybe people wouldn’t bully him “if I had superpowers, if I could become Superman.” Magic became “the closest thing to superpowers,” a way to bridge gaps, build confidence, and connect. Early Magic: Cards, Psychology, and Possibilities Devon started with card tricks, “kind of everyone’s entry point.” He explained that card magic involves numbers, memory, psychology, and timing. “It’s getting used to handling a deck of cards just like any tool.” He shares one of the mathematical realities that inspired him: If you shuffle a 52-card deck, “no deck has ever been in that exact order, and statistically, no deck in the future ever will be.” The concept mesmerized him: “It’s math, science and statistics and psychology.” “You get into, like, this weird area of random knowledge. For example, if you have a deck of 52 cards, figure out numerically how many possibilities are on a deck of cards. It is mathematically 52 factorial, which is 52 times 51 times 50, all the way down to one. Which means if you shuffle a deck of cards in the history of a deck of cards, no deck has ever been in that exact order. And statistically, no deck in the future ever will be in that exact order. It is a deck of cards and magic, but it’s also math, science and statistics. So, you start off with card tricks and then you branch into anything and everything from there.” Rejecting Gimmicks: “I Pride Myself on My Sleight of Hand” While some magicians use trick decks, Devon says, “I pride myself on my sleight of hand. I don’t ever want to be reliant on any kind of apparatus. That’s not magic.” He wants spectators to be able to inspect anything he uses. “Magic will come for those who seek it. I’ve always told people I don’t have any special capabilities that anyone else can’t develop. I just put in the time, the energy and the effort. Everyone wants the view from the top of the mountain, but very few people want to actually climb the mountain. And so it’s the destination, but it’s also more so the journey. So once you get the knack for cards and you develop that dexterity, then you see other things that are maybe more visual.” Learning Through YouTube and Persistence Devon began learning magic through YouTube “when I was like 9 or 10.” Some tricks came easily; others took relentless practice. “The cool thing about magic is that it kind of compounds a little bit… it builds the dexterity in your hand to then be able to do something totally different.” Beyond Cards: Ropes, Coins, Rings, and Mentalism Devon performs with cards, coins, rings, ropes, and also does mentalism—“reading minds.” He studied reading systems and even tarot, not spiritually, but “as a way to understand it for what it is.” He notes that ancient magicians, including ...
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