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MAMOU – Valerie Cahill realized that her own personal experience of Cajun culture had been limited.
The longtime New Orleans resident had grandparents who were Cajun but they were of the traditional, and more well-known bayou variety, ones who speak with an distinct accent and make their living along south Louisiana’s famed Cypress Tree-filled waterways.
Cahill would soon discover there was much more.
“I think I was blind to the reality that there is another facet of culture and that is of Cajuns that live on the prairie,” Cahill said. “It is a very rich and multi-faceted culture. That realization led me to follow it more closely and that led me to Fred’s Lounge in Mamou.”
It was during a trip to the famed bar in the small Cajun prairie town, that Cahill was introduced to Evangeline Parish Cajun culture, as well as meeting several residents and town officials.
And during that trip is when she first laid her eyes on the Hotel Cazan, the town’s historic three-story hotel situated on the corner of 6th Street and Main Street.
“I absolutely fell in love with it,” Cahill said. “People talk about Mamou like it is in the middle of nowhere. That’s not true at all. Mamou it is in the center of everywhere. It is three hours from New Orleans, three hours from Shreveport, an hour from Alexandria and Lafayette. This is the belt buckle of everything good in our state.”
That led Cahill, and her group Stella Lea LLC out of New Orleans, to purchase the hotel which had sat empty for nearly six months.
“We specialize in damaged hotels nationwide,” Cahill said. “With our experience over the years of bringing these hotels to life, many of the people in those communities and those we have worked with have become friends and some have even become family. Those people have helped us see what affect a well-run hotel has on the community, especially a small community.”
“Anytime a business opens again here we are excited,” Mamou Mayor Ricky Fontenot said. “I think they are going to make a go of it.”
The Hotel Cazan was originally a local bank when it was constructed in 1911. A few decades later, the building was converted into a hotel. The hotel currently has 17 guest rooms and a penthouse.
The hotel which reopened the week before Mardi Gras, is currently open and taking reservations. For those interested, call (337) 468-5100.
“Our goal right now is to help the building be everything that it can be,” Cahill said. “We want the hotel to be running just right, for it to be a true place of hospitality. The focus is on the hotel itself and then we are going to let it reveal to us what is the next thing we will do.”
That focus will likely turn to a pair of assets the hotel possesses.
First is the 850 square-foot area known as The Bar at Hotel Cazan, which has its own dual door entrances, and resides in the former bank lobby. The entertaining space, popular with locals for years, features a hand crafted mahogany bar, and a mirror backdrop that has columns imported from France.
Another usable space is off the back of the bar area, a small cafe-diner. Cazan’s PoBoy Shop used to fill the space. The owners could turn that area back into a small diner or breakfast area for its guests or both.
“It is a lot more than just a historic building,” Cahill said. “The cafe is a little jewel. We know for sure that the community has a relationship with that bar. They have a history with that bar that doesn’t have anything to do with us.”
Cahill is hoping to turn the Hotel Cazan into a venue that guests will want to stay in year round, and not just for Mardi Gras or the town’s Cajun Music Festival.
Cahill firmly believes that the Hotel Cazan will be an ideal place for destination weddings, receptions, class reunions, as well as smaller events such as educational seminars, art showings, soap making classes and speaking engagements.
One such event has already been lined up in one of the property’s buildings that has its own separate street entrance. Dr. Martha A. Madden will discuss safe drinking water on April 22 at 10 a.m.
Cahill also wants the hotel and town to be considered as a destination for those evacuating the southern part of the state during hurricane season.
Cahill is thrilled about the future of Hotel Cazan, as well as the small Cajun town it calls home.
“Mamou is a great place to be,” Cahill said. “I think once we get on people’s radar screens, a real movement will be coming to Mamou. There will be renaissance here.”