Guilbeau 0.12.750N 092.01.182W
Willow 30.14.626N 092.00.466W
Meche’s Donut King is a Lafayette staple among families, businesses, and tourists alike. Known for both their fresh donuts and their [King Cakes][King Cakes]
were traditionally eaten the day before, and sometimes the day of the Feast of the Epiphany (also known as Twelfth Night), January 6. Such cakes typically concealed a dried bean, which typically signaled a good year for its recipient. Over the last f..., Jane and Ewell Meche opened the popular donut shop in 1970 and now their children each operate one of the three locations, Guilbeau Road, Willow Street and Rue Louis, to serve all of Lafayette.
Weekends are busiest, according to Olita Cormier, a Meche’s employee for 21 years. Not only does the business appeal to families, it operates much like a big family itself. Cormier says that’s what makes it so worthwhile. Not only are the co-workers like a big family, but also their customers. Cormier recalled a young man who first came in as a high school student at St. Thomas More, served in Iraq, and returned to Lafayette and continues to eat breakfast at Meche’s.
Most employees have been there for over 10 years, working odd hours. “Cutters come in at 1:30, then come the friers a little later, and the cashiers, like me, come in at 3:30, others 4:30,” says Cormier.
Most popular are the glazed donuts and their remnants, tasty bite-size donut holes, and of course, the Meche’s King Cake, which comes in a variety of flavors and can be shipped anywhere in the continental Unites States.