Though he only owned it for the better part of a year, Victor Monacelli is still amazed that people remember the Blue Moon Club.

The Blue Moon Club in New Iberia was built in the 1940s by the Etienne Norris family and was in business until the 1980s, according to Monacelli’s daughter, Lorri Monacelli.

“It was a very small time in his life and he is very surprised at the interest of the Blue Moon now,” Lorri Monacelli said.

A native of California, Victor Monacelli was stationed in the Teche Area at the time where he met his then-wife, Mary, a New Iberia native.

After seeing an ad in a newspaper for Blue Moon Club, Victor and his wife bought the business and leased out the building, owning the name of Blue Moon Club.

Victor said he didn’t own the business for very long and that it struggled to take off.

“Maybe I didn’t put my heart and soul into it,” Victor Monacelli said.

With a family in need of providing for, Lorri said her father packed up one day and bought the keys back to the owner and the Monacellis moved to California.

“My dad said at the time it was really hard to get people in there,” Lorris Monacelli said. “The people that were in there were mostly my mom’s family.”

The Blue Moon Club did host a few live acts to bring more people in and though Victor appreciates the level of interest, Lorris said that at the time, he felt it was a burden for him.

“I think it wasn’t even a year that they owned it,” Lorri Monacelli said. “My dad said it was just a small part of his life.”

From what Lorri understands from the people who did go to The Blue Moon Club when it was open, the club was a big part of people’s lives.

“It’s a great legacy,” Lorri Monacelli said. “Even though the building is no longer there, the memories are.”