Guidry’s Place

Status: Closed

Parish: St. Martin

Location: Henderson

Photo at left courtesy of Marty Guidry, Photo at right from the Johnnie Allan Collection at the Center for Louisiana Studies, University of Louisiana at Lafayette.

Marty Guidry: “With the building of the levees around the Atchafalaya Swamp shortly after the massive 1927 flood in south Louisiana, Henry Guidry, a bridge tender at the small community Atchafalaya, moved his family in 1930 the short distance to Lenora. One of the earliest settlers of Lenora, Henry immediately built a grocery store, restaurant and dance hall. In 1934 using mules Henry Guidry hauled his businesses about a mile southwest and reopened. Folks began to settle around Guidry’s businesses and the small community of Henderson came into existence. Today Henry Guidry is known as the founder of Henderson, Louisiana. Henry was quite a cook and is best known for making crawfish the premier seafood it is today. Diners drove on dirt roads for miles to eat crawfish at Guidry’s Place in Henderson. Within the same building was Henry Guidry’s dance hall of the same name. Diners could enjoy the Cajun music while dancers from throughout the area glided across the cornmeal-strewn floor to the two-steps and waltzes. The Cajun bands played long into the night. As a young woman, Helen Boudreaux, award-winning Cajun singer and songwriter, remembers sitting on the balcony at Guidry’s Place and watching her two brothers woo the girls with their outstanding dancing. At Henry Guidry’s death in 1954, the family sold the restaurant and dancehall to Pat Huval and it became the world famous Pat’s of Henderson Seafood Restaurant.”

 

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Photo Credit: Martin Guidry, Photo from the Johnnie Allan Collection at the Center for Louisiana Studies, University of Louisiana at Lafayette.