A longtime fixture in the Lafayette lunch and health food market will soon close its doors for good.
The Whole Wheatery Eatery, which opened more than 40 years ago in the Oil Center, will remain open until June 19, although it may stop serving lunch before that date.
“People can still shop until we close and help us out that way,” says owner Jean Goodman. “I would urge them to do that.”
Increased rent and less people frequenting the Oil Center are to blame for the decrease in business, Goodman says.
“We’ve had poor sales for the past year,” she says. “We’ve noticed an exodus of offices, just vacancies of offices and lots of for rent signs in the area.”
Goodman and her two daughters, Jamie and Heather, have operated Whole Wheatery for the past six years after purchasing the business from a woman everybody knew simply as Ms. Henry. Jamie worked under Henry for five years before the Goodmans purchased the business.
Whole Wheatery first opened in 1970 or 1971, at a time when a health food store and lunch spot seemed radical in Lafayette.
“It’s such a booming industry nowadays,” Jean Goodman says. “It’s funny because all of Ms. Henry’s family and friends thought she had lost her mind when she decided to open a health foods store.”
What Jean Goodman will miss most about the business is interacting with her customers.
“I made many good friends,” she says. “I enjoyed owning a local business that I felt was giving back to the community in a positive way.”
Jean Goodman will be moving into “semi-retirement” by teaching piano lessons and caring for her mother.
“We all have positive outlooks for the future,” she says. “My daughter got married two weeks ago, and the other one will be attending school.”
As the Goodmans prepare for a new phase in their lives, they are still searching for somebody to purchase the business whole. They’ve seen no luck so far.
Jean Goodman thinks the Park Place Surgical Hospital’s move from Wilson Street to Ambassador Caffery Parkway is what most hurt business in her region of the Oil Center.
The Whole Wheatery customer favorite was the bible sandwich, a whole wheat pita filled with homemade guacamole, shredded white cheddar, alfalfa sprouts and diced tomatoes.
“We’re taking those recipes to the grave,” she says. “We’re not selling them. Maybe my daughter in the future will come back with something, but I won’t be.”
As the closing date approaches, health food items on the store’s shelves will be marked down.
“We just would like to thank all of our loyal customers who supported us all of those years,” Jean Goodman says. “They’ve already told us how sad they are that we’re closing.”
