The Old-School Ice Cream Brand You Haven't Seen In Decades Still Has One Louisiana Shop

If you grew up seeing Elsie the Cow on milk cartons or visiting her at the State Fair of Texas, you might remember Borden, an American dairy brand that was once well-known. But the Borden's ice cream parlors that once dotted the small towns of this country have almost disappeared — except for one shop in the Ragin' Cajun town of Lafayette, Louisiana. 

The Borden's Ice Cream Shoppe in downtown Lafayette dates back to 1940, when it opened on Johnston Street, just a couple blocks away from the University of Louisiana-Lafayette. Borden's shops once operated near its dairy plants all over the country — in just Louisiana alone, it had locations in New Orleans, Baton Rouge, and Lake Charles as well. But over the years, those other shops closed, leaving little Lafayette as the last remaining Borden's parlor. 

While the ice cream brand is certainly interesting on its own, the building itself also has historical significance. The Library of Congress has even recognized the 1940 building, noting that it was originally a milk-cooling-station, and has remained remarkably unchanged since then. While the Borden brand has undergone plenty of changes (and owners) over the years, the Lafayette shop has managed to preserve all the nostalgia and charm of an old-fashioned ice cream parlor. It even still serves the Borden's fan-favorite cherry vanilla ice cream, along with banana splits, chili dogs, and Frito pie.

The shop's survival is especially notable when you look at the long history of Borden. In the 1850s, Gail Borden created canned condensed milk — which helped popularize canned food in America — after witnessing children dying from contaminated milk. A century later, in the late 1980s, Borden was the world's largest dairy operator, before financial losses and a private equity buy-out in 1995. The company ultimately filed for bankruptcy in 2020, marking the end of an era for yet another once-massive American food company. But even though Borden was gone, the Lafayette parlor kept operating as a local institution, thanks to its surrounding community and fans. 

In 1981, the longtime owner left the property to the University of Louisiana Lafayette's foundation. Thirty years later, the foundation made the decision to sell the building to local businessman Red Lerille and his daughter, Kackie, who still runs the shop today. The family renovated the building, being careful to preserve the Art Deco architecture, terrazzo tile floors, and glowing neon sign.

Thanks to a joint family effort, Borden's Lafayette location is essentially a living piece of American dairy history. The dairy brand may have vanished from grocery store shelves, and Elsie the Cow has long since retired, but a scoop of history remains. For anyone who likes to reminisce about ice cream parlors once being neighborhood gathering places, rather than grabbing a McFlurry or Blizzard in the drive-thru, it's reason enough to visit the college town.