Cavalier House Books starts a new chapter in Lafayette, LA, during Festival International, connecting with community.

For Lafayette, this is the city’s 39th Festival International de Louisiane–but for Cavalier House Books, this will be their very first. 

Located at 302A Jefferson Street, in the heart of downtown Lafayette, you can find Cavalier House Books’ new location. The space was recently acquired in June last year by shop owner John Cavalier, 40, and his wife, Michelle Cavalier, from the owners of Beausoleil Books. The couple are dedicated to upholding the space’s connection to the community and legacy as an independent bookstore.

“I’m really glad we’re approaching a year,” John Cavalier said. “It’s sort of a milestone, because now everybody that’s with us here in Lafayette has kind of experienced a little bit of everything.”

The Cavaliers anticipate reaching a year of ownership for the new store and the ability to reflect on previous festivals and other events to make improvements.

The Cavaliers pride themselves on getting the bookstore involved in so many local events, such as the Louisiana Book Festival, school book fairs, and other off-site events. So, for them, Festival International won’t be anything new. They have prepared for the weekend a $1 bookshelf stand featuring a clearance section specially for the festival. 

Customer browsing $1 bookshelf at Cavalier Books | Photo: Taylor Pippin

Like many shop owners, they anticipate the store experiencing an economic boom from the surge of tourists attracted by Festival International. He also recognizes the festival as an opportunity for free marketing and more visibility in the local community for the store. 

Both locations serve to highlight the unique aspects of the areas they are located.. The Lafayette location puts a spotlight on French culture with a dedicated section of the store and handwritten recommendation cards placed around the shelves titled “nous aimons…” or “we like…” Meanwhile, the Denham Springs location in the Antique District featured an antique and vintage selection. 

John Cavalier also attended Big Towns this week, a two-day conference in Lafayette that annually brings in several featured speakers from across the U.S. to discuss the problems that large towns and small cities might face. He participates due to his position on the planning and zoning commission in Denham Springs and also has a personal investment in topics of infrastructure, land use and public administration.

Much like Festival, the conference was another opportunity to promote the store. John Cavalier prepared a selection of books catering specifically to the Big Towns conference attendees, addressing public officials, planners, designers, architects and developers. The curated collection was well-rounded, “being based around pushing new ideas forward, while also being invested in the classics,” he said.

Initially, the Cavaliers started running the business out of their parents’ home in 2005 while they attended Southeastern Louisiana University. After graduating in 2009, they moved the store into its original location in Denham Springs. They stayed in that building until 2023 when they transferred the store to a different location just a few buildings down the same street.

Due to a substantial amount of inventory, the Cavaliers were considering signing a lease on another location and opening a second store. They had never considered Lafayette as an option because there was already an independent bookstore in the area, but when the owners posted on Facebook about the uncertainty of the store, they reached out.

John Cavalier said that on the drive over from Denham Springs, they had already talked themselves out of taking over the space. “We were like, ‘There’s no way we’re gonna do it. There’s no way,’” he said. “And then we got here, and we’re like, ‘this place is so charming.’”

Everything fell into place, and they decided to take over the lease. The only difficulty they faced with the new location was crossing the Atchafalaya Basin Bridge, which did cause problems, such as in late January this year during the snowstorm, which caused the interstate to close. The couple are still residents of Denham Springs.

Managing both stores also challenged the Cavaliers. At their Lafayette location,  they hired almost an entirely new staff, whereas at the Denham location, they only add on new team members about once a year.  John Cavalier emphasized the importance of the staff at both stores. 

“I love them all,” he said. “They’re all fantastic. I couldn’t do it without them–definitely couldn’t do two stores without them. So, I mean, if we didn’t have great people, we wouldn’t have anything.”

$1 bookshelf with customers and other merchandise | Photo: Taylor Pippin