Baton Rouge’s Lagniappe Records to move to Lafayette

Photo by Collin Richie. Tess Brunet (pictured left) with Alex Abel of The Chambers at Lagniappe Records.

A year after settling into its Beauregard Town location, Lagniappe Records is moving west.

Co-owners Tess Brunet and Patrick Hodgkins announced today that the record shop would be moving from its Baton Rouge location at 705 St. Joseph St. to downtown Lafayette. The shop originated in Baton Rouge in 2013 on 986 France St.

Brunet says the decision wasn’t an easy one to make. However, she notes that rising rent prices for the Baton Rouge location were a key factor in the decision.

“[The rent] was being raised to something we’re not comfortable with,” she says. “We wanted to be in Beauregard Town. We thought we would stay in this area. But, we had to broaden the search.”

The new shop will have around the same size and be located at 313 Jefferson St. in Lafayette. The setup will be a bit different, as the space is more “shotgun-style,” Brunet says. The owners plan to open the Lafayette shop in August.

“This place in downtown Lafayette is the right location,” she says. “We could’ve moved into a strip mall in Baton Rouge. We could have been on the other end of town. That was not appealing to us at all. Initially, this was devastating news. There was a moment when we thought we would have to close. Then, this spot came open, and it was hard not to seriously consider it.”

Brunet says business will go on as usual in the new location. The D.I.Y. label, which has fostered Capital City young bands such as Loudness War and The Chambers, will continue in Lafayette, as will live concerts. Lagniappe Records’ last day in Baton Rouge is Sunday, July 26.

“We have made a name for ourselves here, and people [in Lafayette] know about it,” she says. “We still want to have some roots in Baton Rouge. We want to participate in pop-up shops and bring some cool bands from Lafayette here. It was a bold move, but we are looking on the bright side.”