A company renowned statewide will be setting up shop in New Iberia after the recent installation of the kayak dock on Bridge Street to provide a unique bayou experience.

Tours by Steven initially began in New Orleans and moved its way to Franklin where it provides ghost tours, and now will be expanding its coverage by coming to New Iberia sometime next week.

Co-owners of the business Steven Mora and Chad Boutte said their interest in New Iberia began after talking to Cathy Indest with the Iberia Cultural Resources Association and Mayor Freddie DeCourt, who helped to sell them on the idea of creating a unique experience for residents and tourists to explore the Bayou Teche in a way that has never been done for.

Mora said Tours by Steven has been in operation for eight years, and began after he wished to be part of the reconstruction effort of New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina.

After getting involved with tourism through sales, Mora said he started his own company with Boutte after he began to survey some of the notable New Orleans spots.

“It just took off,” Mora said. “Chad came on board and the company exploded, we shot to the top of TripAdvisor’s list for three years.”

During COVID-19, Mora said Tours by Steven hit a wall due to the seven-person restriction for tours in New Orleans. During that time, the company decided to head to Franklin to see if they could assist in revitalizing a property, and ultimately wound up setting their sights on showing some of the spookier elements of the city.

“We built a ghost tour in Franklin, people talking about this house being haunted and we had a priest come, experts and mediums come and they all said there were spirits there,” Mora said. “During COVID we opened a ghost tour and it became a super success.”

Mora attributed the success to the cultural richness of the region, as well as people in the area looking for more unique experiences. “Bayou Town Strolls” were also added by the business to give tourists a scenic view of the history and culture of Franklin as well.

While they were expanding in St. Mary Parish, a desire to expand into the waterways of the Teche Area led to the purchase of a fleet of kayaks.

After speaking with the ICRA, Mora said Tours by Steven participated in the Books Along the Teche Literary Festival which introduced them to New Iberia.

“We knew that the waterways here are underutilized, and we wanted to reincorporate into the lives of people here,” Mora said.

The tours, which Mora said will hopefully be open next fall, will also come with a walking tour to highlight the history and culture of New Iberia.

“We want to cover everything from the natives to the people who were enslaved,” he said. “It’s a really beautiful town, we love it.”

Mora called the bayou the “interstate of the 1800s,” and the new kayak tours aims to generate more interest in the nationally designated waterway.

The kayak tours come after several years of kayak docks being installed along the Bayou Teche thanks to the TECHE Project, a non-profit organization with the mission of promoting the Bayou Teche.

The City of New Iberia recently completed its own kayak dock off of Duperier Avenue, which will be the location of the kayak rental shop.

In addition to providing tours, Mora said part of the goal of the company is to educate or share with others interested on what it takes to increase traffic into small town areas.

Mora said he is currently working with two companies currently to identify ways to improve traffic into areas like Franklin and New Iberia. One of the key issues with many small towns is weekends, when many businesses and accommodations close shop.

”We’re working with two companies to survey people and marketing experts to try and figure out if we have the right brand and are attracting the right people to the area and to identify the issues that we have,” Mora said. “I think moving forward into Franklin and New Iberia, we have to have a town that visitors can visit while its open and there are things to do and accommodations.”