Photograph: Melanie Lee LeBouef presents the 2022 Historic District Preservation Awards to Senic Baptiste and Vanessa Harris, owners of The Parlor, and to Floyd Ford, owner of the two-story duplex located on South Main Street in Opelousas. (Photograph by Freddie Herpin.)
Former Fa-Kouri Building and Duplex on Main Street Receive Awards
(Opelousas, LA) – Each year the City of Opelousas honors property owners for special contributions and efforts in preserving historic architecture in the city. This year, the city is proud to feature both a Historic District Preservation Commercial and Residential award winner. The 2022 commercial award recipient is the former Jake Fa-Kouri Building on Main Street, now known as The Parlor, and the residential award recipient is the brick duplex on Main Street.
The Parlor, one of the newest downtown businesses, is owned by Senic Batiste and Vanessa Harris. Located in the heart of downtown Opelousas, the two-story building is the former Fa-Kouri Men’s Wear Building which dates back to 1931 when it was owned by John Fa-Kouri and his brother Elias FaKouri as Fa-Kouri Tailor Shop. Mr. John was recognized as one of the most outstanding tailors in the South. In 1962, the store name was changed to John Fa-Kouri Men’s Wear. When Mr. John died in 1968, his sons, John and Jake, took over the operations. Throughout the years, its second floor was utilized for residential space and the first floor eventually became a limited trade corporation operating as Fa-Kouri’s Men’s Wear.
The 3000 square foot building had not been occupied since it operated as a men’s clothing store in the mid-to-late 1990s. In 2007, Senic and Vanessa purchased the building. In 2011, the building received a Louisiana Main Street matching grant to help with some of the restoration. Some of the work included repointing the exterior bricks, repairing the original overhang, sanding and repainting the windows, and replacing the rear cypress doors. While doing this, the building’s distinctive character of wood and brick was kept in place.
Today, the building serves as a solid example of detailed historic preservation. In recent years, the first story served as an art studio by a local artist. Today, The Parlor at Main operates on the lower floor as a special event rental facility and meeting room. The upper floor has also been restored into a spacious studio apartment.
The two-story duplex, located on the Main Street corridor, is owned by Floyd Ford. The duplex, which was built around the 1940s, features Tudor Revival architecture. The style of the building is a contributing element to the Opelousas Historic District and Opelousas Main Street District as there are only a handful of Tudor Revival-style structures within the area. The building is 2200 square feet and features two units with first and second floors. Some of the rehab work included restoring the floors and windows. The roof of the building was also replaced. The arched front doors and the interior doors were restored and most of the original glass knobs were left on the doors. The building was painted for a fresh updated look and a drive-way was added. Today, the duplex is used as housing for veterans. In addition, this restoration project led to Mr. Ford’s purchase of an adjacent duplex, which has also been restored.
For more information, email tourism@cityofopelousas.com
