For many people who grew up in Opelousas, J.W. Low’s lunch counter brings back memories of cherry colas, biscuits, lunches, and visits to the candy counter. For me, J.W. Low’s also brings back memories of my mother working there while we lived in Opelousas. She took this photograph in 1953 or 1954 while my father was serving his first Army tour in Korea, before my siblings and I were born.
While I was pregnant for my firstborn, I would go to the lunch counter after my doctor’s appointment. Mom was working there at the time and she would treat me to coffee and biscuits. At that time JW Low’s had been there for about thirty years. It lasted about four or five more years from the time I had Chris.
As a child, my memories of it included going to JW Low’s to meet up with mom when my grandmother would take me and my older brother, Glenn, shopping. The store had the lunch counter plus fish, candy, toys, housewares, music albums, sewing fabric and so much more. It was the center of a “mini-mall” in that it could be accessed from the west on Court Street, on the east on Main Street, the north from the Abadalla’s store and on the south by East Landry Street.
Once mom took us to the office of the owner, Audrey Low so we could meet her. I was four years old at the time, and I was in in awe of being in the owner’s office.
When Glenn and I were older, after going to the Saturday matinee at the Delta Theater on Market Street, Glenn and I would cross from Market Street by the Court House to Court Street to enter JW Low’s on the west side. Our grandparents brought us to the movies, then we went to meet mom at JW Low’s after the movies to go home with her. We usually got some kind of treat including getting candy and sometimes a fish for our aquarium.
As I got older, often times I along with co-workers from Standard Fittings would go to the lunch counter for lunch with Boston cream pie for dessert.
Definitely a center place of memories for us. As I reflected on these memories, I became curious about the history behind the place that meant so much to so many of us, and I began searching through newspaper archives to learn more.
J.W. Low’s, a five to ten cents store (later a five to-dollar store), was once a central downtown icon in Opelousas, Louisiana. Its owners, William “Bill” and his wife Audrey Low, came to Opelousas from Texas in the 1930s, looking for a place to establish their store. Their store opened in 19361 on the lot formerly occupied by the Dejean Cotton Office on Main Street in Opelousas. Later there were also J.W. Low’s stores in New Iberia in 1937 and Ville Platte in 1939.
In 19392, an additional 1408 feet of floor space was added to J.W. Low’s between Abdalla Department Store and the Exclusive Dress Shop on Main Street. A warehouse was also added at the rear of the store.
In 19513 a larger expansion of the original J.W. Low’s store was constructed. At that time, the store was managed by brothers Vernon and Leon Huckaby.
This new expansion included:
- four new shops were to open in the new Low’s Arcade – The House of Flowers, operated by Paul Boagni, Jr., and Jules Smith; Frank’s Men Shop, operated by Frank Onebane; The Fabric Shop, operated by Mrs. Ray Comeaux; and Kay-Lee’s Fairyland (children’s clothing) operated by Mrs. A. Gulino and Mrs. J.S. Guidry.
- Ideal Pastry and Super Market opened at the junction of the store’s new and old parts, across the soda fountain corridor.
- A lunch counter /soda fountain also opened with a convenient, comfortable ladies’ lounge above the lunch counter. The fountain, which could seat sixty-five, was said to be the largest in the state. Joint managers were Earl Colgin and Harris Chapman.
The original section of the store was to be remodeled after the 1951 holidays. The remodel had the same woodwork and color scheme as the store’s new section.
In later years La Boutique and Maude’s Craft Shop were some of the businesses that housed their businesses in the arcade.
In addition to the breakfast–lunch counter and soda fountain, there was a candy counter, fabrics, housewares, toys, and much more. In many ways, J.W. Low’s functioned as an early shopping arcade or mini-mall. Customers could enter from Main Street, Court Street, East Landry Street, or through Abdalla Department Store, making it a unique shopping destination for its time.
On April 29, 19534, it was announced that a one-story modern building would be constructed in the Low’s Annex on the south side of the store on East Landry Street to house the American Department Store (ADS). This new building would provide a south entrance to J.W. Low’s via East Landry Street.
On March 19, 19545, ADS had its grand opening in the new building. C. R. Anthony Company purchased ADS eighteen years later, in 1972. Anthonys expanded into the twenty-five hundred square feet area in 1975 that Outlaw Jewelers once occupied.
Low passed away on September 26, 19536 from a sudden heart attack at the age of forty-three years. Low was considered monumental with civic pride and a valuable citizen. He was also co-founder of the Yambilee Festival along with Felix Dezauche, which was discussed during a coffee conversation, and the festival was first held in 1946. After Low’s death, Mrs. Low took over the store’s management.
Although J.W. Low’s has been closed since 1979, people still talk of their memories of cherry cokes from the fountain, candy from the candy counter and shopping at the store. Many who may not remember the store have heard the stories of the store.
Among the newspaper accounts I found was a March 16, 1965, Daily World7 article reporting that a desegregation lawsuit had been filed against J.W. Low’s, Inc., on behalf of seven African Americans who alleged they had been been refused service at the lunch counter because of their race. Although this article does not explore the lawsuit further, it is part of the documented history of the store.
Mrs. Low passed away in 19948 at age eighty-two in a nursing home in Keller, TX. She was buried alongside Low in Myrtle Grove Cemetery in Opelousas. Her obituary shows she and Low met in the late 1920s, married in 1930, and moved to Opelousas in 1934.
A newspaper article on May 16, 19799 stated the store would be closing due to lack of traffic downtown. Mrs. Low (who later became Mrs. Taylor) stated she didn’t look at J.W. Low’s closing as a loss, but as a result of changing times. She said they were a part of the growth that occurred in Opelousas and that they did more than provide a store in that they gave employment opportunities to high school students to help them make something of themselves.
There was a resolution to dissolve J.W. Low, Inc. on June 11, 1979. The Dissolution Notice of J.W Low, Inc. appeared in the local newspaper on June 14, 197910.
Today, J.W. Low’s lives on in the memories of those who shopped there, worked there, or simply passed through its doors. For me, it is remembered not only as a downtown landmark, but as a place where family memories were made—over coffee and biscuits, after Saturday movies, and while waiting for my mother to finish work. Although the store has been gone for decades, it remains an important part of Opelousas history.
The history of J.W. Low’s presented here was compiled from articles published in the Clarion News, The Opelousas Herald, and The Daily World of Opelousas, Louisiana.
References:
1Clarion News, Opelousas, LA, June 18, 1936
2The Opelousas Herald, Opelousas, LA, April 7, 1939
3The Daily World, Opelousas, LA, November 23, 1951
4The Daily World, Opelousas, LA, April 29, 1953
5The Daily World, Opelousas, LA, March 19, 1954
6The Daily World, Opelousas, LA, September 29, 1953
7The Daily World, Opelousas, LA, March 16, 1965
8The Daily World, Opelousas, LA, August 9, 1994
9The Daily World, Opelousas, LA, May 16, 1979
10The Daily World, Opelousas, LA, June 14, 1979