The History of the Cafe

One November day in 1993 a little terra cotta colored house at 508 Pujo Street opened its doors as Pujo St. Cafe. At the time, the menu only consisted of soups, salads, and pastas. Moreover, we were only open for lunch during the week and occupied only the bottom floor. This quaint cafe quickly grew in popularity, completely taking over the house along with a small open-air courtyard in four and half short years. The time came to look for something more accommodating. About the same time, the new owners of the Gordon's Drugstore building were looking for tenants and as they say, "the rest is history". in May of 1998 Pujo St. Cafe moved to its new location offering more than ever: lunch, dinner, covered courtyard dinning, full bar, upscale wine list (with wine testings ever two months), live music, and a private banquet room- all in a New Orleans atmosphere. For more than a decade, Pujo St. Cafe has been committed to bringing to the table food with a fresh idea. Pujo St. Cafe would also like to thank you, the customer, for dining with us and allowing us to serve you!

The History of the Building

Originally, the structure was built as Gordon's Drug Store in 1898. In 1902, they clad the building in brick and it became one of only three brick buildings in Lake Charles. Quite unique in its day, due to the fact that Lake Charles was a lumber town. Although the Great Fire of 1910 destroyed most of downtown, this building was spared, thus making it one of the few surviving structures to date, from before 1910. Up until the 1950's, Gordon's Drugstore was the place to shop and socialize. Above the drug store were doctor's offices, which now have been converted into apartments. You can ask just about anyone that remembers its heyday and you can bet they will have a story to tell. After moving  to Lake Street, Riff's Department Store occupied the building and  Boling Insurance Agency followed. In more recent years, it was in danger of being torn down, but in 1996 it attracted the interest of Sherman Properties and was restored as it is today.