First Look: New Chatagnier Community Market is a one-stop shop for local foods

Local food enthusiast Lexus Chatagnier had long dreamed of being able to shop for regionally raised meats, dairy and other items in a single retail outlet.

“I just liked the idea of everything in one place available not only on Saturday mornings at a market, but in a store that’s open all week,” Chatagnier says.

Earlier this month, she and her husband Jacob made the dream a reality with the opening of their Chatagnier Community Market on Airline Highway in Gonzales.

The 1,300-square-foot store holds items from about 60 curated vendors, including Sagrera Farms beef and pork, honey from J&J Apiary, Bonnecaze Farms stone ground grits, Black Prairie Farms cookie mixes and syrups, Feliciana’s Best Creamery dairy products, Mycocentrics mushroom tinctures, fresh eggs, sourdough and all manner of preserves, sauces and other prepared foods. Chatagnier says she is planning to add fresh produce in the future. The store also stocks gifts, including leatherwork, cups, T-shirts, candles and soaps.

Business has been robust, so much so that the couple is already considering expanding to a space about three times the size of the current location later this year, Chatagnier says. The additional square footage would accommodate more products and make way for a planned commercial kitchen.

The early success of Chatagnier Community Market reflects the region’s sustained and growing interest in local foods and culinary micro-enterprises, as proven by ventures like the Red Stick Farmers Market, which turns 30 this November and holds year-round markets every Thursday and Saturday. Numerous other outdoor markets also take place across surrounding parishes. Meanwhile, the LSU AgCenter’s Food Innovation Institute, or FOODii, has incubated scores of local food producers since it launched in 2013. These products, and others developed outside of FOODii, find a home on the shelves of the area’s many independent supermarkets and culinary retailers.

The store’s owners live on a 12-acre farm where they raise goats and laying hens. They previously held pop-up events on their property, but permitting issues shut these down, Chatagnier says. That helped fuel their interest in opening a brick-and-mortar local foods boutique.

Chatagnier says her personal interest in eating local goes way back.

“Growing up, I was sick a lot, so I really started looking at ingredients and what’s in food,” she says. “I felt like the safest option for me was just to find stuff that was more local and to stay away from big food corporations. I want somebody who really cares about the products they’re making.”

Chatagnier Community Market also hosts a permanent pop-up cart inside the store where rotating vendors set up daily. Shoppers might find sweets from Cakes and Catering by Maria; baked goods from Wild Rise Sourdough Co., Fleur-de-Licious Bakery and Treats or A Spoonful of Kindness; or sauces from Pop’s Basting Sauce.

Chatagnier says her top sellers are basics like meat, eggs and dairy. She hopes to round out the store’s overall variety so that patrons won’t have to make multiple additional stops.

A grand opening is planned for Saturday, Sept. 19, and will feature an outdoor vendor fair in the parking lot with 50 to 70 vendors, Chatagnier says.

Chatagnier Community Market is located at 14210 Airline Hwy. in Gonzales and is open Tuesday through Thursday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Friday and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. The market is closed on Monday.