CAROLA LILLIE HARTLEY
Contributing Writer
On September 29, 1883, the St. Landry Democrat newspaper announced Jacques Alphonse Ventre was building a roomy and substantial store building on the corner of North Court and Grolee streets in Opelousas. He opened his business shortly after. The business, shown in this late 1800s photograph with unidentified family members, was later relocated to another building in the same area, but remained a family business. Although only food and home products were sold when it first opened, the Ventre store later became a mercantile store, and even later, a dry goods and shoe store that operated until the 1950s. (Photograph courtesy of Emile Ventre IV, Chris Ventre and Jonathan Sebastien.)
