Top Five Acadiana Business Stories of 2025 with Adam Daigle, Business Editor of Acadiana Advocate

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In this episode, Adam Daigle, Business Editor of The Acadiana Advocate, returns to break down Lafayette and Acadiana’s top five business stories of 2025. With years of experience tracking economic trends, major developments, and the people shaping our community, Adam offers an inside look at what’s driving growth—and what challenges remain.

From the long-awaited arrival of Trader Joe’s to manufacturing growth, real estate trends, and the future of North Lafayette, this conversation is packed with insight.

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A Post-Covid Economy: Stabilizing but Still Shifting

Adam notes that Acadiana has mostly returned to pre-pandemic normalcy, but some sectors continue to adjust:

• Restaurants: Sales are outpacing inflation overall, but performance is uneven. High-traffic corridors like Kaliste Saloom are thriving, while many locally-owned restaurants still struggle with tight margins, rising costs, and increased competition.
• Retail: Still strong—people are spending, and parish retail sales continue to grow.
• Manufacturing: One of the region’s most promising economic bright spots. Well-paying jobs, steady growth, and diversification beyond oil and gas continue to strengthen the sector.

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Manufacturing Momentum—Even After Setbacks

While Acadiana added thousands of manufacturing jobs since 2020, the closure of SafeSource Direct was a painful blow. The PPE manufacturer, built during the pandemic, couldn’t compete with ultra-low-cost Chinese imports. The result: 700 local jobs lost, many held by women and graduates of drug court programs.

Even so, Adam emphasizes that manufacturing remains a major growth engine. Companies continue to diversify away from oil and gas, and Louisiana’s industrial corridor—from I-49 to Hwy 90—remains active and expanding.

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Real Estate & Housing Trends

Adam continues to follow Lafayette’s housing market closely:

• Higher-end homes that once sat on the market are now moving again.
• Sales volume is rising month-to-month.
• Rental demand remains extremely high, driven by population growth and a historic low in first-time homebuyers (just 21% nationally, with the average of a first-time homebuyer being 40 years of age nationally).
• Lafayette continues to see brisk apartment construction to meet demand.

The market is tight—but not dangerously overbuilt.

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Adam Daigle’s Top Five Business Stories of 2025

1. Trader Joe’s Is (Finally) Coming to Lafayette

The biggest story of the year: Trader Joe’s is officially in the works for the corner of Bluebird Drive and Camellia Blvd. in Lafayette.

Published on 2 weeks, 6 days ago