A new neighborhood grocery store called Jefferson Market & Deli is coming soon to 620 Jefferson Boulevard in North Lafayette, inside of a historic 2,300-square-foot building in the Pontiac Point area.
The new market is being developed as a permanent, for-profit neighborhood grocery store to increase access to fresh food and everyday essentials for residents in the surrounding area, including Sterling Grove and McComb-Veazey.
Renderings provided by United Way of Acadiana
Jefferson Market & Deli is the next phase of United Way of Acadiana’s (UWA) long-term food-access work in Lafayette. Instead of focusing only on short-term food assistance, the idea here is to create something permanent that can operate as a self-sustaining business within the neighborhood.
United Way of Acadiana is serving as the lead community partner and project convener, bringing together public funding, grants, financing and private investment to help make the project happen. UWA will also help coordinate community programming and connections with local chefs, dietitians, nutrition educators and other food-related professionals.
The grocery store itself will be operated by Downtown Lafayette’s own Amis Grocery, operated by Bradley Cruice & Craig Biddy. They will oversee the day-to-day store operations, and grocery inventory.
Castle Row Construction, led by Sam Viator, acquired the Jefferson Boulevard property with the goal of creating a permanent home for the market. Castle Row is serving as both the property owner and developer and is leading the redevelopment and tenant buildout of the space.
Several other local partners are involved in helping finance the project, including upLFT Capital Access, the Lafayette Public Trust Financing Authority, Lafayette Consolidated Government and the Louisiana Blue Foundation.
LCG provided American Rescue Plan Act funding that helped United Way move its food-access efforts from research and planning into implementation. The Louisiana Blue Foundation provided support through its Fresh Food Capital Investment Grant.
Renderings provided by United Way of Acadiana
According to United Way of Acadiana, research tied to its Lafayette Initiative for Food Equity found that nearly 65,000 Lafayette residents live in low-income, low-access census areas. Since 2023, the initiative has helped create or expand four food-access points, supported 157 community partnerships and programs, and served more than 13,946 households.
Jefferson Market & Deli is intended to complement existing food pantries, community gardens and other food-assistance programs, not to replace them. We are also told that the store is expected to accept SNAP benefits, WIC, and provide enrollment assistance for those programs.
The group of partners behind Jefferson Market & Deli is working to establish a true neighborhood grocery store that can hopefully become part of the long-term solution for North Lafayette and its residents.
“Now we have the partners, we know it’s happening. Now we want to connect with the community to hear what they envision,” said Heather Blanchard, President & CEO of United Way of Acadiana.
In the coming weeks, United Way and other partners will host community meetings to meet with the surrounding community to learn what residents actually want from the market. The goal is for this project to be a neighborhood resource hub.
Tentatively, the Jefferson Market & Deli is set to be completed by Mardi Gras 2027, which falls on February 9, 2027.
For more information, visit https://unitedwayofacadiana.org/jeffersonmarket/.
