Section Business Cover

Second Chances

After selling C&C Tech, Thomas Chance has turned his attention to a new venture — autonomous sea vessels.

Following the Third Circuit Money

In the final weeks of the primary, big dollar donors — including plaintiff firms based outside the district — stepped up for the Perret campaign.

MOST READ IN 2016

ABuzz: The Stories That Set the Internet on Fire (at least locally) in 2016

Bank On It

Entrepreneur of the Year Mike Maraist might be soft spoken and eager to praise others, but friends and business associates who know him best trust him the most.

Phoenix on the Fuselier

Artist George Marks leads a cultural and economic renaissance in his hometown of Arnaudville.

Here Comes the Sun

As LUS backs off its controversial “solar tax,” stakeholders call for more transparency, and for a renewed engagement with the community-owned utility provider.

GOING COASTAL

In an effort to force Big Oil to pay its share for coastal restoration, the Edwards administration definitely isn’t mailing it in.

THE MAN ABOVE THE NOISE

As the state’s new Connector chief, Tim Nickel aims to manage the project’s competing parts by managing expectations.

And the Plaza Thickens

The vacant megaclub tests the real-world implications of Downtown’s bar moratorium.

RENEGE OR REBOOT?

It remains to be seen whether Bell Helicopter’s decision to change operations at Lafayette Regional Airport constitutes a breach of contract.

Pope on the Ropes

The Lafayette city marshal’s Feb. 29 contempt hearing — for failing to turn over court-ordered documents responsive to a public records request — could be just the beginning of his legal troubles.

THRUST AND PARRY

The city of Youngsville is suing a top local engineering firm for millions, claiming its design of Chemin Metairie Parkway was full of cracks.

Making the Lafayette-Lake Charles Connection

In preparation for an early November meeting with various companies hiring hundreds of workers in the Lake Charles market, Lafayette officials did some digging into unemployment data for the Acadiana region.

Eyeing the Storm

An ambitious project that weds science and tourism is set to further transform Lake Charles’ lakefront.

The Flavor of Home

ABiz 2015 Entrepreneur of the Year Butch Darce’s Taylors International is a real meat-and-potatoes business.

Innovators of the Year Unveiled

Innovation award winners will be featured in a panel discussion during the INNOV8 Acadiana Technology and Entrepreneurial Summit on Saturday, Nov. 14, at LITE.

Blondes Have More Fun

Cathi Pavy, ABiz’s inaugural Jillian Johnson Award winner, is fiercely loyal to the Lafayette brand.

EIGHTY-SIXED

The lingering downturn in oil prices has companies consolidating, workers being laid off, skilled employees leaving and industry leaders painfully recalling the mid-1980s.

VIEW FROM THE TOP

Dacoda Bartels comes to LAGCOE to convince the oil industry that an unmanned, all-seeing eye can improve their bottom line.

Ahrens Put on Notice

Local financial adviser hit with dreaded “Wells Notice” from national regulatory agency FINRA.

Kathleen Blanco: No Regrets

Former Gov. Kathleen Blanco suffered plenty of political bruises in the days, weeks and months after Katrina, but she remains defiant that she did right by her state.

Pluck and Luck

Locally founded convenience-store chicken purveyor Krispy Krunchy Chicken, which opened 508 new locations nationwide last year and has already added 300 stores this year, has set it sights on international expansion.

A Rapid Chain of Events

Buckle up for the next eight months, Lafayette, it’s gonna be a quick ride down the rapid economic expansion highway. A cursory drive around town shows a lot of green space on the expanding city limits to be realized into a new crop of nationally anchored retail and shopping developments.

Seismic Shift

In a lawsuit seeking to recover $230 million from Mike Moreno, the liquidating trustee alleges the Lafayette businessman looted Green Field Energy Services just as it headed toward a “spectacular failure” — and also has harsh words for local shareholders and directors it claims rubber-stamped Moreno’s scheme.

Rigging the System

The annual spring legislative session is just under way in Baton Rouge as lawmakers grapple with a $1.6 billion budget deficit and the difficult job of closing it.

Hock & Awe

Long a bellwether of the local economy, what are Lafayette’s pawn shops telling us as the price of oil slides?

Downtown Downturn

Despite record-setting retail sales across Lafayette Parish, restaurants in the Hub City’s most urban, historic district are struggling.

Most Expensive Home Sales of 2014

Residential real estate in Lafayette Parish did it again in 2014, besting 2013’s total sales of 3,184 homes by 3.2 percent to set yet another record.

Living Spaces

No longer a boutique hotel, Buchanan Lofts hits the market as condos for sale.

Knight Falls

Mark Knight is out as president and CEO of Knight Oil Tools, but nobody at the company is talking.

ENTREPRENEUR OF THE YEAR 2014

In his office at LHC Group headquarters in Lafayette, Chairman and CEO Keith Myers has a framed collage of photographs on the wall that was given to him by his wife, LHC co-founder Ginger Myers. He calls it his “evolutionary chart of a Cajun businessman.

Go West, Young Manuel

Greg Manuel's Lafayette-based residential development company is taking advantage of exponential industrial growth in Lake Charles. Photo by Robin May Greg Manuel of Manuel Builders in front of a...

Between Rock and a Moratorium

Popular music venue slash bistro Artmosphere needs to sell more food or face the loss of its liquor license. Photo by Robin May Artmosphere owner Beryl Kemp Would you go out to hear your favorite...

Furniture Store Saga Coming to a Close

Former W. Home Furnishings owner Rene Ward faces seven years in prison. In what appears to have been an elaborate scheme to defraud the government - one that ultimately ended with him and his wife,...

Mayday!

A fundraiser co-chaired by former U.S. attorneys from both sides of the political aisle could signal the end of Mike Harson's long grip on the D.A.'s office. A fundraiser co-chaired by former U.S....

Salt in the Wound

A sales rep who ripped off an industrial design from a major corporation loses again. But will the corporation ever collect its $1 million in damages? An Acadiana businessman ordered to pay nearly $1...

Steady Wins the Race

Far from an overnight success, ABiz Entrepreneur of the Year Lenny Lemoine helped build a successful construction company the old-fashioned way: through hard work, determination and cultivating relationships.

Big 10

The major deals that shaped the business scene in 2013.

Moreno's Green Field Files for Bankruptcy

High-flying Lafayette businessman's fracturing company hopes to reorganize hundreds of millions in debt. By Leslie Turk Nov. 15, 2013 He is known to be quite the salesman - but whether he delivers on...

Show Time

The energy industry's Super Bowl' returns for its 29th showcase. Let there be no doubt - and you will see on the pages that follow - that the energy industry in Acadiana is robust. At the helm of the...

Under New Management

LABI's new president reaches out to members in Acadiana and elsewhere to build a more robust organization. By Jeremy Alford Oct. 15, 2013 Photo by Brian Baiamonte Stephen Waguespack LABI's new...

A Tech Hub

Could Lafayette become one of the next technology meccas? Could Lafayette become one of the next technology meccas? By Patrick Flanagan Though it won't be replacing Silicon Valley anytime soon,...

Butterflies?

After several turbulent years of furloughs, layoffs and buyouts and now facing a leadership vacuum, employees at The Advertiser and Daily World have every right to be wary of their parent company's...

El Koubi Leads Chamber

Economic developer replaces retiring chief exec Rob Guidry. Photo by Marie Constantin Jason El Koubi, who has served as assistant secretary to Louisiana Economic Development Secretary Stephen Moret...

Optimism Reigns

Commercial real estate professionals say the best is yet to come. Commercial real estate professionals say the best is yet to come. By Leslie Turk Monday, June 17, 2013 Photo by Robin May FOR...

Fresh Catch

Lafayette now has inroads to state money for seafood promotions and marketing. Lafayette now has inroads to state money for seafood promotions and marketing. By Jeremy Alford Wednesday, May 15,...

Turning a Corner

The Andrus family's plan for a physician apartment complex is being favorably received by residents who have waged a long legal battle to keep their neighborhood just that - a neighborhood. The Andrus...

Swimmingin the shark tank

Five hopefuls seek investment opportunities to dream bigger Five hopefuls seek investment opportunities to dream bigger. The Acadiana Center for the Arts theater was a full house on Thursday night as...

Bank vs. Bank

Commercial and community banks are lashing out at credit unions for what they describe as an unfair tax advantage. The tax-exempt status of credit unions is coming under fire in Washington, D.C., and...

Pension Limbo

In Louisiana, government workers aren't the only ones collecting a government pension. In Louisiana, government workers aren't the only ones collecting a government pension. So, too, do employees of...

Risky Business

Tehmi Chassion’s failure to recuse himself in the school board’s selection of a group health benefits provider raises serious questions’ on whether he violated state ethics law.

The Judicial Balancing Act

While other state employees continue to clamor for a delay or repeal of the cash balance retirement plan, only judges - so far - have been included in legislation that grants exemptions. While other...

Robe Roulette

At least three judges in the 15th Judicial District will likely retire next year, so let the speculation begin. At least three judges in the 15th Judicial District will likely retire next year, so let...

Moving to Lourdes

Surgical hospital outgrows Oil Center location Surgical hospital outgrows Oil Center location. Park Place Surgical Hospital officials say the impending move to Our Lady of Lourdes campus on Ambassador...

Luxe Living

Thirteen super high-end homes attracted buyers in 2012 - and at least four homes above $850,000 already sold this year. Lafayette Parish's super luxury housing market in 2012 didn't set the world on...

No Place Like Home

Could 2013 be a banner year for Lafayette Parish home sales? Once again, we're reminded that it's a damn good time to be living in Lafayette. From 2011 to 2012 the number of Lafayette Parish home...

Buyers & Sellers

A tax credit exchange that links private interests with public capital is influencing policy in Baton Rouge and stretching into other states. By Jeremy Alford The relatively short history of...

‘Just Not Worth It'

Kevin Naquin, the city-parish councilman who led the charge to prevent Acadian Ambulance from getting whopping rate increases in 2012, [in]explicably recuses himself from a vote this year that gave...

Advanced Design

Advancial Federal Credit Union opens second Lafayette office. When driving south on Johnston Street past the Mall of Acadiana, you can't help but notice an impressive white stone building topped with...

To Each His (or Her) Own

As Louisiana's two U.S. senators begin a new year on the Hill, both appear locked into debates over energy taxes that could prove explosive on policy and political fronts. As Congress began debating...

Big Deals of 2012

ABiz presents its annual feature on the top business stories of the year. BP, LHC Group and Acadian Ambulance, Greg Gachassin and Daniel Stanford, Van Eaton & Romero and Frank's Casing Crew, UMC...

The Cajun Regulator

Breaux Bridge native Scott Angelle is positioned to influence the utilities landscape - and possibly the state's political terrain as well. Breaux Bridge native Scott Angelle is positioned to...

A Curious Conspiracy

Four of the nine men indicted in the Curious Goods case have accepted plea bargains, but high-profile criminal defense attorney Daniel J. Stanford says it'll be a cold day in hell before he pleads...

Shale Shakeup

Higher costs and depressed natural gas prices have companies exiting the Haynesville shale in search of rock formations holding black gold. Rigs are dropping like flies at the Haynesville shale, down...

Full Steam Ahead?

Last summer's Gulf lease sale was a sign of progress or just the opposite. Depends on who you ask. At the end of the day, the June lease sale brought in more than $1.7 billion overall for the...

Shale Shakeup

Higher costs and depressed natural gas prices have companies exiting the Haynesville shale in search of rock formations holding black...

Peer Pressure

Public meets private for a lesson on bridging the digital divide in Lafayette Parish public schools. The "best and brightest minds" from the Lafayette business community have come together...

View from the Top

Like it or leave it, ObamaCare has encouraged physicians and hospitals to better focus on what really matters: helping people get and stay well. The Grand Canyon is one of the marvels of the world....

Home Sweet Home

As Lafayette's mid-year residential real estate report shows, the Hub City's housing market is going gangbusters.The turnaround in our local real estate market is nothing short of dramatic. We're...

Taking Flight

Lafayette's Blue Victory bringing Dick's Wings to the state. Lafayette businessman Seenu G. Kasturi has been quietly building Blue Victory Holdings over the past three years, mainly through the...

Leading Ladies

This year's Women Who Mean Business honorees represent the gamut in Lafayette's business and civic life, but they share one thing in common: They're role models for us all. As the Hub City continues...

Investar Coming

BR bank eyes 2013 Hub City debut. Baton Rouge-based Investar Bank is planning three expansions outside the capital city in the coming months, and Lafayette is on its list. An Investar spokeswoman...

Driving the Economy

More than 80 percent of the companies making ABiz's fourth annual Top 50 list boosted their revenues from 2010 to 2011. July 26, 2012 Mosing. It's the name most synonymous with Lafayette's oil patch...

The Rating Game

Record-low interest rates lead to an uptick in refinancing options for commercial realty. By Heather Miller Home refinancing is at its highest in three years with fixed mortgage rates floating at an...

‘Best. Year. Ever.'

Gregg Gothreaux had to say it three times before the audience realized its significance. By Leslie Turk Lafayette Economic Development Authority President and Chief Executive Officer Gregg Gothreaux...

Muddy Bank

From foreclosures to fraud to suicide, a lawsuit filed against Opelousas-based St. Landry Homestead Bank alleges a wild Ponzi scheme' in rural Cajun Country. By Heather Miller It's been six months...

The Lafayette Connection

Local attorneys discuss their role in the epic partial settlement with BP. By Heather Miller Had the historic, massive litigation of the BP oil spill gone to trial as scheduled on Feb. 27, Lafayette...

His Own Worst Enemy

Doc-turned-developer Glenn Stewart's Parc Lafayette is more than collateral damage in his public crusade against The Independent, but the center's tenants deserve our support. By Leslie Turk Photos by...

Make Room

Make Room How will big chain furniture retailer Rooms to Go impact the local furniture industry? By Heather Miller There's a new kid on the block in Lafayette's home furniture industry - and local...

Horton Hears a Who Dat

They build them fast and they price them to sell, and their cookie-cutter subdivisions are beginning to spring up on the margins of Lafayette, north and south. With relatively low unemployment and a...

Entrepreneur of the Year

Wednesday, November 23, 2011 Scott Eric Olivier. Remember that name. You'll be hearing it a lot in the next few years. Find out how this year's Entrepreneur of the Year went from programming sounds...

The Russians Are Coming

Wednesday, October 19, 2011 LAGCOE welcomes its first-ever delegation from Russia. By Erin Z. Bass Every other year, Lafayette hosts the country's second-largest energy exposition. In 2009, LAGCOE...

Sky's the Limit

Wednesday, September 28, 2011 By Erin Z. Bass **Local tech experts say the future of data storage is in the cloud. ** Wednesday, September 28, 2011 By Erin Z. Bass Local tech experts say the future of...

Women Who Mean Business 2011

Lisa Stafford, Dana Baker, Anne Darrah** The femmes of Festival International** Lisa Stafford, Dana Baker, Anne Darrah** The femmes of Festival International** When the last weekend in April rolls...

Well Done

Already a sell-out, LAGCOE 2011 will be Sally Ware's last. Already a sell-out, LAGCOE 2011 will be Sally Ware's last. When the 2011 Louisiana Gulf Coast Oil Exposition comes to a close on Thursday,...

Top 50

Wednesday, July 27, 2011 Acadiana's Top 50 Privately Held Companies, led for the second year in a row by Moreno Group and Schumacher Group at Nos. 1 and 2, respectively, got back on track in...

CNG Now!

Wednesday, June 29, 2011 Written by Leslie Turk Affordable, abundant and clean-burning, natural gas is coming to a station near you. Wednesday, June 29, 2011 Written by Leslie Turk Affordable,...

What's on the Horizon

Wednesday, May 25, 2011 Development in Lafayette is heating up. By Anna Purdy and Leslie Turk The retail slowdown in Lafayette appears to have been short-lived. All over town dirt is turning again and...

Better Know Louisiana's Nuclear Plants

Wednesday, April 27, 2011 What would it take for a nuclear meltdown to happen here? By Julien Gorbach The nuclear disaster that continues to unfold at Japan's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant raises...

Downtown Poupart's

Wednesday, April 27, 2011 Popular bakery answers sweet siren call of delicious downtown breakfast.  By Anna Purdy Poupart's Bakery is expanding to Jefferson Street. Wednesday, April 27, 2011 Popular...

Shopping Spree

Wednesday, April 27, 2011 **Three banks. Three months. Four acquisitions.  By Heather Miller ** Since Whitney Bank announced in December its plans to merge with Mississippi-based Hancock Bank,...

Customer Counselor

Wednesday, March 30, 2011 ** MidSouth Bank's program to help habitual overdrafters is country's first. By Heather Miller** It's the day before your paycheck hits the bank, and you log in to your...

Retail Sales Up in 2010

Wednesday, February 23, 2011 Combating a slowing economy and deepwater drilling ban, Lafayette Parish proved its resilience. By Leslie Turk An economy many believed would be pounded by the drilling...

The Six Pack

Wednesday, January 26, 2011 ** This year's fit execs share their secrets to top performance. By Leslie Turk** It's not just about looking good - though that is one of the major benefits. Exercising...

Big Deals of 2010

Wednesday, December 29, 2010 ** The moratorium on offshore drilling dominated the news cycle for much of 2010, but the biggest news of the year is that the doomsday scenario never came to pass. By...

Rig Safety Battle Intensifies

Wednesday, October 27, 2010 BOEM claims drilling will resume after rig inspections. By Jeremy Alford The uncontrolled release of oil into the Gulf of Mexico this year has brought about a new culture...

I Want My 3D, HD And VODTV

Wednesday, September 29, 2010 Cox, LUS and AT&T compete with the latest in TV programming and high speed Internet advancements. By Nathan Stubbs You're standing what seems like only a few feet...

Profiles in Tenacity

**Wednesday, August 25, 2010 Written by Cherry Fisher May From a 40-year-old advertising executive to a 75-year-old educator, the 2010 WWMB honorees are leaving an indelible mark on our...

Making the List

No where is the change in this year's Top 50 Privately Held Companies list more evident than at the very top of the heap.

At Bay

Wednesday, June 30, 2010 Written by Mary Tutwiler For now, Vermilion Bay is clear of oil, and the Cypremort Point shrimp season is in full swing. Morning comes early in midsummer. Five o'clock on June...

Speculative Development

**Wednesday, May 26, 2010 Written by Penny Font Lafayette businessman Mike Moreno wants to transform 30 acres of prime Baton Rouge real estate linking LSU and downtown. But right now, the project is...

Opportunity Knocks

Written by Penny Font Wednesday, April 28, 2010 Locally headquartered banks' buying spree has Lafayette emerging as the banking hub of the South. Decades ago, Charlotte, N.C., emerged as one of the...

Wired for the Future

The promise of world-class, high-speed broadband is here, and businesses are finding innovative ways to take advantage When Kleinpeter Dairy makes one of its routine delivery stops at Wal-Mart, the...

The Party Boys

Whether it's a business pow-wow or a spectacular blow-out event, this group of men really knows how to pull it together. Move over, Martha Stewart - the boys are taking charge. In Lafayette, the guys...

The Year in Rear View

Acadiana Business takes its annual look back at the top 10 stories of 2009. Some of the biggest stories in Acadiana got their due in 2009: the Stanford scandal, IberiaBank's rise to the No. 2 banking...

Doing It His Way

From his first apartment-based business to running one of the largest emergency medicine management companies in the nation, Dr. Kip Schumacher embodies the entrepreneurial spirit of Acadiana. If...

Same Fight, Different Politics?

For veteran independents like Frank Harrison, the ongoing cap-and-trade debate marks a change in political pressure, although the oil and gas industry has been here before. Dwight D. Eisenhower was in...

Oil Center Renaissance

A 1996 master plan for redevelopment of the Oil Center is being overhauled to maximize the potential of this urban gem. It all started back in 1996. UL Lafayette School of Architecture’s Community...

Women Who Mean Business

Mothers, daughters, friends, wives, entrepreneurs, teachers, community activists, role models. This year's group of WWMB honorees and Trailblazers embody the best of Acadiana. Photos by Robin...

Acadiana's Top 50

A company’s annual revenues don’t tell you a whole lot about its success, but this figure is a key indicator of which local businesses are driving an area’s economy. With privately held companies,...

Hitting Home

Many, though certainly not all, Lafayette area businesses are starting to feel the pinch of the recession. Back in P.T. Barnum’s day, if someone said they were going to tighten their belt a notch, it...

Rooms to Spare

How long can Lafayette’s hotel industry keep expanding? The hotel boom in Lafayette may be at an end. With three more facilities recently opened in the Kaliste Saloom area — Staybridge Suites, Wingate...

Taking Its Toll

With no money from the feds and just a trickle of revenues coming from the state, the time has come to seriously consider tolls to fund I-49 South. And while the Lafayette chamber is prepared to make...

Johnston Street Smart

Real estate developer Reed Andrus’ vision could be a low-cost solution for expediting the transformation of Lafayette’s biggest eyesore. After decades of wishful thinking and years of serious debate...

Uneasy Lies the Crowne

For almost a year, Hotel Acadiana flew under the radar of local and state permitting and code officials as it underwent a $10 million renovation in its quest to become an elite Crowne Plaza. How could...

Acadiana Business: Lafayette's fit execs

It's real easy for today's executives to come up with excuses for not getting and staying in shape, but for some of Lafayette's top decision-makers, climbing the ladder of success means a few miles on...

Physically Fit

Lafayette is now home to two forward-thinking health programs — one tailored to the overall fitness of time-pressed professionals and the other designed to test the heart of Acadiana’s younger...

Big Deals of 2008

As uncertainty looms over the state’s oil and gas industry, what the future holds for the oil-dependent Acadiana economy in 2009 is anybody’s guess. This past year, however, is filled with compelling...

Acadiana's 2008 Entrepreneurs

It’s a powerful statement about a community’s entrepreneurial spirit when two home-grown entities make it into the Top 10 of a respected national business magazine’s annual ranking of the best...

Shale Shock

The world is watching northwest Louisiana and the Haynesville Shale natural-gas play. It’s a rolling, seven-parish field so flush with the resource that it boggles the minds of oil veterans,...

The Silicon Bayou

Lafayette has made a name for itself as a tech-savvy community and is now hoping e-government initiatives will place it among the top 10 digital cities in 2009. When it comes to cutting-edge...

HomeWork

With gas and office space high, companies and employees embrace work-from-home programs. Matt Delcambre photo by Robin May When Matt Delcambre shows up for a weekday lunch in shorts, it triggers jabs...

Women Who Mean Business 2008

From educators to entrepreneurs to star athletes, this year's honorees have left an indelible mark on the local community, and not one of them - not even 82-year-old Marcelle Fortier Citron - is showing any signs of slowing down.

What's Your Plan?

Take their advice: No matter what your age or financial status, smart financial planning is one of the best moves you can make. When it comes to financial planning, today’s bleak reality is that...

Higher Ground

A series of proposed high-rise, mixed-use developments could result in a development boon for downtown Lafayette. Available: 1.8 acres of prime downtown real estate on the corner of Jefferson and Main...

Follow the Leader

Aiming for a prestigious position in the state Senate, Mike Michot became more of a risk-taker — and Acadiana's business community is reaping the benefits of his successful rise to power. photo by...

The Regulator

First appointed OFI commissioner by Gov. Blanco in 2004, Acadiana native John Ducrest’s determined effort in the aftermath of the 2005 hurricane season won him widespread admiration from bankers...

Feeling the Pinch

Politically motivated restrictions on temporary worker visas for non-U.S. citizens have Acadiana businesses scrambling for help during their peak seasons. At this time of year, Harvest Time Seafood is...


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