Located at 219 E Vermilion St., Magnolia Pantry is a charming new cafe specializing in artisan hand-pies (both sweet and savory), craft beverages such as lemonades and specialty coffees and meal options including paninis and salads. Locals in Lafayette have been raving about this new arrival in the downtown area. The historic Sans Souci building is being put to good use by this business.
The concept of this place stemmed from two popular Acadian companies, Acadian Slice Pies and Magnolia Moon Herbals. With its warm and inviting atmosphere, Magnolia Pantry has quickly become a favorite spot for both locals and visitors.
Their menu offers an assortment of matcha and coffee, as well as tea and tea lattes, hand pies and other simple meal options.
Their matcha comes hot or iced, with flavors such as agave, lavender honey, white chocolate, honey vanilla and strawberry.
Their coffee is also available hot or iced, with some of the same flavors, but with a choice of oat, coconut or cow’s milk.
Some of their tea lattes (both iced and hot) include the Blooming Flower, which features lavender, jasmine, elderflower, white tea, butterfly pea flower and coconut condensed milk and the Lavender London Fog, which features lavender, Earl Grey tea with honey vanilla, coconut condensed milk, topped with vanilla cold foam.
This cafe also features some teas that are beneficial to your health. Some of these teas include Recovery, which contains lemon verbena, ginger, turmeric, peppermint and chrysanthemum, making it great for alleviating dehydration, fatigue and nausea, and the Study Blend, which includes green tea, cardamom, ginkgo, gotu kola and peppermint, making it great for focus and a light energy boost.
This establishment was first opened in August of 2025 by Alexis Badon and Korey Champagne, two popular local business owners in Lafayette. The business concept won the One Acadiana Small Business Challenge, awarding the founders a prime lease and investment to open in the historic building. They have quickly become a popular place for studying and relaxing.
My colleague and I had the pleasure of visiting this new local restaurant and cafe on Friday, Oct. 31. As we walked up to the building, I admired its beautiful yellow color. It was literally a small, quaint, yellow house on the corner of a street. Being fully decorated for Halloween also made the place even more up to my standards.
As we walked into the rustic doors, we were greeted by the baristas behind the counter and we began to order. Looking at the menu, I knew it would be a difficult decision to choose just one thing.
The atmosphere of the cafe was airy and light. Green wooden walls, light wooden tables, plants and soft hanging lights surrounded. The patio was even more beautiful, with flowers around the outside and a view of Lafayette’s downtown area.
After spending time admiring the environment and looking at the menu, I decided to get the Frozen Lavender Lemonade, the brisket, havarti cheese and pickle panini and a side of caesar chicken salad.
At the same time, my colleague chose the Frozen Dragon Fruit Lemonade, accompanied by a spinach, tasso and gouda quiche slice pie and a side of smoked gouda grits and pesto deviled eggs.
We sat down at a little couch area in the corner, where there was a lot of sunlight and waited for our food and drinks.
Our drinks came out first, and they looked delicious. It reminded me of the frozen lemonades I used to get at the fair when I was little. But they sure did not taste the same. This drink was much more delicious than any other one I have had. The boba at the top of the drink added an extra layer of flavor to the lavender. My colleague’s dragonfruit lemonade was similar to mine in terms of taste and boba.
When our food came out, it arrived on these beautiful plates that looked like old china dishes. The presentation was definitely well thought out. My brisket panini was hot and the cheese melted right off the sandwich. The brisket was tender and juicy, with just the right amount of seasoning. My colleague’s quiche pie was equally impressive.
After we finished our meals, we decided to order dessert. I went for the raspberry brookie and my colleague went for the S’more to Love pie. Both desserts came out fresh and cold, and were equally as good in flavor.
When we finished our desserts, I decided to interview both owners, Alexis Badon and Korey Champagne. Badon stated, “So far, it’s been a pretty profound new experience for me. I have been in the food industry for nine years, but it was always travel-based… so to be able to serve my products in a stationary place has been really wonderful. I feel like I’m really setting roots.”
Champagne stated that, “Having this, finally having a brick and mortar retail location, you know has been great for us, not just us, but our customers, because for so long, the biggest question was where are you located…downtown’s been so good to us, not only just for events…its been fun to see all of the nightlife aspect.”
If you would like to visit this establishment, it is open Tuesday through Thursday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., Friday from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., Saturday from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. It is closed on Mondays.