Jady Regard was nine-years-old when his father brought home the first pecans to start a new family business in Darby Lane of New Iberia. 

Regard said he was as surprised as anyone else that 45 years later he would be standing in downtown New Iberia celebrating the opening of a pie bar, gift shop and distribution center for Cane River Pecan Company as the “chief nut officer.”

A ribbon cutting for the newest business on Main Street in New Iberia was held Friday by the Greater Iberia Chamber of Commerce. Employees, local officials, business leaders and fans of the new site all packed into the new pie bar to celebrate the opening of the new venue, which is located at the site of the former Stage. 

To make the day even more perfect, Regard said the ribbon cutting was being held on National Pecan Day, and its safe to say that there was never a more pecan-centric ribbon cutting in the chamber’s history. 

“We thought it was appropriate to hold it on National Pecan Day,” Regard said. 

The construction of the new headquarters for Cane River was several years in the making, and came with the help of downtown tax credits for historic buildings that Regard said was essential to make the site work.

Mayor Freddie DeCourt said at the opening that Cane River served as a model for what is possible in the downtown district. 

“He is the poster child of our downtown,” DeCourt said about Regard. “What a great investment in our downtown, taking a building that was vacant and taking advantage of our tax credits.”

Regard added that without the help, the former Stage would have likely remained vacant for years. 

“This building was empty for five or six years, it was probably going to stay vacant for 20 to 50 years,” he said. “We were able to get creative with this space and it’s a very big deal.”

Apart from the simple distribution of the Cane River pecan supply, the new venue has a pie bar open to customers throughout the week and even featuring local musicians. A gift shop is featured on the other side of the main room with all kinds of pecan-related trinkets and clothing. 

During the event, Regard also introduced a new “Nut of the Year” award that he hopes will eventually make an entire wall, with the first honoree being Mayor Freddie DeCourt. 

The cutting even drew support from two-time Louisiana Poet Laureate Darrell Bourque, who was commissioned to write a poem about pecans that he recited at the event. 

“It’s a wonderful thing that small American businesses can still set up shop on Main Street,” Regard said.