From Lafayette to tables nationwide
Our Story
Cajun Grocer began in Lafayette, Louisiana, in 1999, when selling regional food online was still a new idea. What started with three people grew into a nationwide Louisiana food business, continuing from the Hohorst family's founding era into the stewardship of the Parfait and Ricks families.
The Idea Behind Cajun Grocer
The original idea was practical and forward-looking: build one online destination where customers could discover genuine Louisiana products and have them shipped from Louisiana to their homes.
That required more than building a website. Cajun Grocer had to develop relationships with Louisiana producers, packing methods, cold-chain experience, and fulfillment systems for foods that were rarely sold online at the time.
Cajun Grocer launched in Lafayette in June 1999 with three people and a clear idea: use ecommerce to make authentic Cajun food available to customers nationwide.
Milestones
Where surviving records are available, the milestones below link directly to contemporary newspaper coverage, archived webpages, and other independent sources documenting Cajun Grocer's history.
1998
An early ecommerce idea
Company history traces the idea to Charlie Hohorst III's work involving the Tabasco website at McIlhenny Company, which showed how the internet could connect Louisiana producers with customers beyond the region.
June 1999
Cajun Grocer launches in Lafayette
Charlie Hohorst III, his father Charlie Hohorst Jr., and a warehouse manager launched Cajun Grocer in Lafayette as a one-stop online source for Louisiana food. Ecommerce was still young, and shipping regional food nationwide presented logistical challenges that most traditional grocers were not attempting online.
Historical record: The Washington Post — On The Fridge, June 16, 1999
February 2000
The early site enters the web archive
Cajun Grocer was founded and launched in 1999. A surviving Internet Archive capture from February 19, 2000 independently preserves the early CajunGrocer.com website and provides a record of the company's first years online.
Historical record: Internet Archive — CajunGrocer.com, February 19, 2000
Early 2000s
Louisiana food reaches a national audience
As the catalog expanded around Louisiana producers, seafood, smoked meats, prepared dishes, and pantry staples, Cajun Grocer helped customers outside Louisiana find regional foods that were often difficult to purchase locally. The business also introduced Louisiana specialties to customers discovering Cajun cooking for the first time.
Independent coverage: The Wall Street Journal — Ordering Gumbo to Go For Mardi Gras Parties
2004
Turducken earns independent recognition
Mail-order turducken became one of the clearest examples of Cajun Grocer's specialized Louisiana-food business. The Wall Street Journal included Cajun Grocer in its comparison of mail-order turduckens, documenting the specialty's growing national audience.
Independent coverage: The Wall Street Journal — Poultry in Motion
2008
A growing specialty-food business
By 2008, Cajun Grocer had grown far beyond its original three-person launch, with a larger nationwide operation built around Louisiana specialties and seasonal demand.
2010
Regional food and early digital commerce
By 2010, Cajun Grocer's story reflected both sides of the business: Louisiana food and early digital commerce. Food Network featured turducken in a Thanksgiving episode of Unwrapped, while Google's official AdWords blog documented how Cajun Grocer used search advertising to connect regional Louisiana products with customers across the country. Adweek separately examined the challenge of building customer trust around an unfamiliar mail-order specialty.
Related coverage: Food Network — Unwrapped: Turkey and Trimmings
Historical record: Google AdWords Blog — Spreading holiday cheer and regional cuisine through AdWords
Independent coverage: Adweek — Turducken With a Side of Trust
2018
A new generation of family stewardship
In 2018, ownership of Cajun Grocer transitioned from the Hohorst family to the Parfait and Ricks families, longtime family friends who continued the business from the New Orleans area. The Parfait family assumed responsibility for the day-to-day operation of Cajun Grocer, working alongside the Ricks family on the technology and digital systems supporting the business. Ownership changed, but Cajun Grocer remained the same continuing company, with the same focus on Louisiana food and nationwide service.
Today
Building on more than 27 years online
Today, the Parfait and Ricks families continue building on the company that began in Lafayette in 1999. The Parfait family oversees Cajun Grocer's day-to-day operations and the practical work of serving customers and shipping Louisiana food nationwide, while the Ricks family works alongside them on the technology and digital systems behind the business. Together, they continue expanding access to Louisiana products while improving how customers discover, order, and receive them.
From Lafayette to Today
The tools have changed considerably since three people launched Cajun Grocer in Lafayette in 1999. The basic problem the company set out to solve has not: many Louisiana foods are still difficult to find once you leave the region. Cajun Grocer continues working with Louisiana brands and producers, shipping frozen and perishable foods across the country, and helping people find foods they remember from home or are discovering for the first time.