At This C-Store, Tradition Lives On
From chili dogs to shrimp and egg stew, Charlie’s Saint Street Grocery & Deli doesn’t mess with customers’ favorites.
Apr 15, 2026 | 2 min read
At the corner of Souvenir Gate and St. Patrick Street in Lafayette, Louisiana, sits one of the oldest neighborhood stores around.
“It started out as Bee’s Grocery in 1947. As a matter of fact, it sits on the first lot in this neighborhood. All of the houses here were built around this store,” said owner Charlie Shank.
Shank bought the store in 2024. “I always wanted a little convenience store,” he said. “I changed it a lot. I spruced it up. But I wanted to keep the character of it.”
One thing Shank didn’t change was the store’s menu options. “Why would I change it? When people buy stores or restaurants and change things, they lose loyal customers,” he said. The previous owner offered the same menu for 27 years.
The store sells about 1,000 chili dogs a month—a success Shank attributes to the chili recipe that came with the store. It’s such a staple that Shank’s 93-year-old mother comes in each Tuesday for a chili dog.
Some menu items have benefitted from a change in ingredients or preparation techniques. “I source our meat straight from a local slaughter house, so it’s fresh ground. I started using NuNu’s Cajun Seasoning and that brought the flavor to a new level—it sets it apart,” Shank said.
The burgers are a great example. Served only on Thursdays, the patties are made with fresh-ground beef and topped with a yeast bun from a bakery down the road. “It’s a true homemade burger. Every ingredient is carefully chosen,” Shank said.
The store often sells out of its plate lunches, especially its meatball stew, which is served on Mondays. While the store serves lunch until 1:30 p.m., the meatball stew is typically gone by 12:15 p.m.
Continue reading “The Community’s Convenience Store,” in the April 2026 issue of NACS Magazine.
