LCV Winter 2012 - (Page 54)

tempo drinking song “the Back door” rivals the classic waltz “Jolie Blon” for honors as the “Cajun national anthem.” for all its mayberry-on-the-bayou charm, Erath might best pinpoint its heartbeat just down the street from the acadian museum, the library and City hall, at 202 south Kibbe street. nothing defines Erath like Champagne’s supermarket. it’s where the Girl scouts set up to sell cookies every winter, where the youth football league conducts its registration every august. it’s the business that donated and maintains the big Erath high school message sign in the middle of town. Employees treat customers like family, just like the way the owners treat the employees. if you live in Erath, Champagne’s supermarket is the place where everybody knows your name. when hurricane rita flooded 90 percent of the homes and businesses in town, Champagne’s supermarket was wiped out, like just about everyone and every place else. the store took on two feet of water, and everything was ruined. Erath was in for a long slog, and so were the members of the Champagne’s team, many of whom lost their homes as well as their jobs to the flood. in the difficult months that followed, the fate of the devastated town of Erath would prove to be inextricably tied to that of its iconic local supermarket. that relationship placed a substantial sense of responsibility on the shoulders of store manager ricky Luquette. it isn’t much of a stretch to say that Luquette has been working at Champagne’s supermarket all his life. it was back in January of 1968 that the store was opened by his uncle, Lester Champagne, and a few other family members. Luquette went to work there a month later, stocking shelves, making deliveries on his bicycle and keeping the the validation the store provided to the small community as a place worthy of having its own local institutions. the family opened a convenience store at a busy intersection on the outskirts of delcambre in 1998, offering the usual array of gasoline, beer, snacks, lottery tickets and — a must for any small store hoping to be successful in Cajun country — hot food. Luquette’s responsibilities grew as well. his uncle, who he always called “mr. Lester” at the store as a sign of respect, eventually was sufficiently impressed with his hard work, trustworthiness and business sense to promote him to vice president and general manager, in charge of operations at all three stores. all was well … until sept. 24, 2005. Luquette lived in henry, a 10-minute drive south from the Erath store past the cane fields and the sprawling natural gas pipeline junction known as the henry hub. as hurricane rita approached south Louisiana, he sent his family to bunk with friends in abbeville. he stayed at home, on alert for emergency situations that might arise at any of the stores, all of which had been shut down in advance of the storm’s arrival to allow employees to evacuate or take necessary precautions for themselves, their families and their homes. Lester had remained at his own home, near the Erath supermarket. the eye of the storm pushed past the Louisiana coast during the night, well offshore but still strong enough to rattle Vermilion Parish. Luquette’s cell phone rang early on that saturday morning. it was delcambre’s chief of police, James Broussard, with ominous news. “rick, water is coming into the store,” Broussard told him. Luquette promptly called his uncle and relayed the report. If you live in Erath, Champagne’s Supermarket is the place where everybody knows your name. place tidy. he was 12 years old. Champagne’s was founded as a family business and always operated that way. over time, Luquette found himself working alongside his cousins — uncle Lester’s boys. Employees who weren’t related came to feel a familial bond, too: it wasn’t unusual for cashiers and butchers and other employees to go to work for the supermarket and stay on for 20 years or more. Years went by and the business grew. in 1984, the family opened a second store in the neighboring town of delcambre — it rhymes with “welcome” — straddling the Vermilion/iberia parish line three miles to the east along Louisiana highway 14. Like the original location in Erath, the delcambre supermarket was embraced by locals who appreciated the convenience of grocery shopping close to home and, by extension, 54 Louisiana EndowmEnt for thE humanitiEs • Winter 2012-13 

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LCV Winter 2012

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