At South End Country Mart in Lafayette, Louisiana, the store’s mission is to offer products at reasonable prices.

“My dad told me, ‘Tye, we have to take care of the people.’ He always talks about the people who only have 20 or 30 dollars—they need a good value,” the owner, Tye Jon Hebert, explained. “Even rich people are poor in this economy. You have to give a good value for what you’re selling.”

Hebert’s parents, Keno and Linda Hebert, bought the store in October of 2008. “My father grew up across the street from the store. Our family still lives in the same neighborhood,” Hebert said. When the couple purchased the property, the store was in rough shape—it was unattractive and not user-friendly.

“Through turbulent times and uncertainty, my parents never lost sight of their vision. They dug in, cleaned up and turned it around,” Hebert said. “They took it from being a little store to a profitable business. A lot of that is due to gas station goodies, but food is how we make the real money. It accounts for 70% of the revenue.”

“The original owner had the pumps removed. Welcome to a gas station with no gas. We have gas station goodies, but no gas,” said Hebert.

The c-store is a food destination in this part of town. Hebert accounts that success to the recipes, which come from his mom. “She is a phenomenal cook. Her mother was a great cook. Mom came from a family with eight kids, so they had to cook big meals.”

Another secret to success? How you cook the food. “A friend of mine gave me her secret to phenomenal meals. She told me, ‘You never cook higher than medium, always use twice as many onions as the recipe calls for and it must take two hours.’ I’ve cooked thousands of meals using those three tips. It always works,” he said.

Continue reading “‘Good Vibes’ Drive Business at South End Country Mart” in the December 2025 issue of NACS Magazine.