Sitting in a booth at Ton’s Drive-In with a steaming cup of coffee and an overflowing breakfast plate, you almost expect everything to turn black and white, sitcom flashback sequence style. Ton’s is so rooted in nostalgia that its impact is transportive. Continuing the crave-worthy consistency is owner Hollie Girouard’s family legacy.

“Watching a guest bite into something they haven’t had in decades is quite the reward,” Girouard admits. “Nostalgia is a powerful sensation.”

In the late 1950s Rose Mary and Alton “Ton” Girouard were both working in Lafayette planning and saving to one day start their own business. In 1963, those dreams became a reality when they opened a drive-in restaurant in Broussard near their home. What began as a burger and malt shop quickly grew into a working-class, family dining institution. Ton’s success has been built on a relentless commitment to tradition, while knowing when to make a perfectly timed twist. Their latest twist is a big one – a second location in downtown Lafayette.

“Chris Granger purchased the old Guarantee Bank building at 500 Jefferson Street in April of 2023,” Girouard explains. “We were flattered when he approached us to open our second location in what everyone knew as the ‘sidebar at JSP.’ I’m glad that we get to bring life to it in this new era.”

While the era might be new, the food remains what patrons have come to love about Ton’s. Their menu is one without pretenses or airs. They serve dishes you don’t have to season yourself once they arrive, because they have been perfected through more than 60 years of catering to even the most critical Cajun palates. Breakfast at Ton’s is a showcase in life’s simple pleasures, be it between bread as an eye opener sandwich or a chicken & honey biscuit, or smothered in sausage gravy and served with a heap of hashbrowns or a pool of grits. The lunch menu is succinct but littered with local favorites. Plate lunches, which rotate daily, red beans and rice on Mondays, obviously, are piled high with culinary comforts. The cheeseburgers are unassuming, but what drive-in dreams are made of. When you order fries, they ask you a question so magnificent we can only hope it’s what will be asked upon arriving at the pearly gates, “Crinkle or curly?”

“We have a very straightforward menu with enough variety to work for just about anyone,” Girouard says. “ At no point before today did we think a vegan option, fresh juice and a frozen coffee would be some of our top selling items. A benefit to being in business for so long is knowing when to stick with what works, while learning when to pivot or try something new.”

Ton’s serves up comfort extending well beyond their food. The earnest hospitality and atmosphere of ease that is the signature of the original location is immediately evident upon walking through the doors on Jefferson Street. Authenticity and integrity is woven into everything for the Ton’s team. Whenever possible they use locally sourced ingredients, not as a marketing angle, but because it is what’s best for Acadiana and for their customers. They serve on old school patterned Corelle plates, not as a cute vintage nod, but because they’re nearly indestructible. Girouard’s mission is not only to preserve these standards, but to make them more accessible to all of Acadiana.

“As our area grows, accessibility to our food becomes more difficult with higher traffic volume, high delivery app prices and less time to stop for breakfast and lunch,” she reasons. “Bringing a second location to downtown gives us the capability to share our fare with more people. I want our customers to feel catered to, as if they’re at their grandmother’s house with stripped down, honest hospitality and straightforward food.”