The area around the University of Louisiana at Lafayette (ULL) is bustling with activity. Students are rushing to class, and people going to work worm their way through the congested traffic on Johnston Street. Horns blow and nerves fray in this busy area of town.

On the corner of Oak Crest and Johnston sits an oasis of Cajun calm. The Hit-N-Run is a convenience store, where traditional Cajun fare and a friendly staff offer an escape from the frenzy of the street.

Owner Brent Mouton worked in c-stores most of his life. “I started working for a company in college called Jet24 Food Stores, a regional chain based in South Louisiana, from 1986 to 1993.” He took a break to work as an engineer and returned to the company in 1995.

But by 2002 he felt it was time to buy his own store. “I started with two stores,” he said. Today, there are 11 Hit-N-Run locations in south Louisiana. The Johnston Street location was the first store Mouton acquired. By today’s standards, the 1950s-era building is too close to the road and nearby apartments, so when Mouton decided he wanted a modern store with the same footprint, he had to build the new store using three existing walls.

Once the construction was finished, he decided to focus on foodservice. “Most c-stores sell the same product, but we do food the old way—the way they used to do food. We have a full-blown restaurant with fryers, stoves, ovens, natural gas cooktops. There’s very little we can’t do.”

Grab-and-Go Meals

For customers short on time, the store offers grab-and-go fare. “They can grab chicken tenders, breakfast items and things like that,” Mouton explained. For customers who are on a grab-and-go schedule but prefer something that feels like more like a meal, chef Dana “Miss D” Romero came up with “grab ’n go” meals such as lasagna and bacon-ranch chicken pasta in single-serving containers. Customers can take it with them and heat it at the office or use the microwave in the store.

The food is great, but I like that they know me here. It feels a little like home.

Mouton sees this as added convenience. “Customers can come for coffee in the morning and grab something cold for lunch. It takes care of two needs with one shot.”

New Orleans native and former ULL student Chris Gastinell stops in daily. “The food is great, but I like that they know me here. It feels a little like home.”

Tenders, Burgers, Coffee, Cookies

Chicken tenders marinated overnight in a proprietary blend of spices are a popular menu item. “They’re hand dipped and hand battered. They do not come frozen,” said Mouton. Another draw is Miss D’s Cajun Burger. “The patty is right at a half pound, and it’s 80/20 fresh, never frozen ground beef. We season this one a little more than the normal burger. Pepper jack cheese gives it a kick with grilled onions,” he said.

And no matter the weather, it’s always gumbo season in Cajun country. Hit-N-Run’s specialty is homemade chicken and sausage gumbo.

Cajun country is also coffee country. People here expect bold and strong, and one coffee reigns supreme in South Louisiana. “We have a good local coffee in Community Coffee,” Mouton said, adding, “One thing we did differently was to put a cold well at the end of the coffee counter and have all the creams in large containers. Creams include half and half, regular milk, vanilla and hazelnut.”

To accompany the coffee, Hit-N-Run’s giant gourmet cookies—Ghirardelli chocolate chip, red velvet, sugar and macadamia nut—are baked fresh daily and displayed in a well-lit, glass case.

What’s next? Mouton plans to renovate another store, and going forward, remodeled stores will have a full kitchen. “Typically we gut the store down to the concrete, and we’ll do the full kitchen just like [Johnston Street],” he said. Partnerships with Subway also are in the works—and maybe another Hit-N-Run location. “Most independent operators are content with one or two stores,” said Mouton, who doesn’t count himself in that group.