AMY SZPARA

PHOTO 1: Don and Mona Loisel of Loisel’s Restaurant in LaPlace offer alligator to tourists to eat after the visitors see a few gators on the Cajun Pride Swamp Tour.(Staff Photos by Amy Szpara) LAPLACE – These days Cajun Pride Swamp Tours vehicles can be seen at Loisel’s Restaurant, Jacob’s World Famous Andouille & Sausage, San Francisco Plantation and even in New Orleans picking up tourists to bring them to St. John Parish. Chris Smits of Cajun Pride Swamp Tours is now running five vans, and he is working seven days a week to not only promote visits to his business, but to promote tourism in the parish as a whole. He has teamed up with San Francisco Plantation to bring visitors to tour the house, and he brings tourists to Loisel’s to sample fried alligator and other Cajun delicacies. In the process of purchasing a mini-bus which will hold 24 passengers, Smits said joining forces with Rodney Miller, executive director at San Francisco Plantation, was promising to his business. PHOTO 2: Joey Mason, manager at Jacob’s World Famous Andouille & Sausage shop, stands before a 1930s smokehouse. Tourists from all over the world are intrigued by the smoking process, which Mason said has not changed much in the past 100 years. (Staff Photos by Amy Szpara) “It seems to be working out well,” Smits said. Smits also brings tourists to Jacob’s for a tour and to taste andouille, and he is lining up things with Jambalaya & Company to start offering his visitors a taste of the bayou at his own spot on Frenier Road after they finish a tour. “The first thing people like when they come here is food. And they like the local atmosphere, and we have plenty of that here,” said Smits, who added that 90 percent of his visitors are from out of town. Teaming up with local businesses has helped Smits’ business grow. “If you’re going to attract tourists, you need to put as many lines out as you can,” he said. “It all adds to my business, and if someone wants to go to San Francisco Plantation and not on a swamp tour, I’ll take them. Not everyone wants to see the swamp. I’ll take them to San Francisco.” Miller could not agree more. He said working as a team has worked out well for the plantation. Twice a day, a Cajun Pride vehicle arrives with tourists shuttled from New Orleans ready to step into the past and view an antebellum home. “He’s (Smits) been a great partner to us because we don’t offer a shuttle,” said Miller. “He’s trying to help San Francisco, just like I’m trying to help Cajun Pride. We feel that the more people we can pull in here, the more money will be spent in the parish.” Along with the new slavery-themed tour which was recently added at the plantation, guests may view an 1830s slave cabin and an 1840s school house, both taken from other parts of St. John Parish and placed on the property. In an effort with Marathon Ashland Petroleum L.L.C. to educate children on the history of St. John Parish, San Francisco will be offering free field trip tours to fourth-grade classes at the start of the school year. Because fourth grade is the first time children are introduced to Louisiana History in school and Marathon is taking care of the bill, Miller is able to offer the program. “My overall master plan is to have an educational plan from kindergarten on up, to get kids to come see what’s in their own backyard,” said Miller. “And with Cajun Pride and other businesses, we’re trying to pool all our assets together to sell St. John Parish. We’re saying, Go to New Orleans. Have a wonderful time. Go to Baton Rouge. Have a wonderful time. But when you’re passing through here, stop for a little while.'” Don and Mona Loisel of Loisel’s have been working with Smits for a year, and people from Australia, Germany, France and other places have visited and dined with them. “They love it,” said Don Loisel. Mona Loisel added, “We’re now serving alligator. They go on the tour and see the alligator, and then come here to eat it. They really like it.” Tourists also enjoy the muffelattas, red beans and rice, pork tenderloins, white beans and gumbos offered by the couple. “It’s going real well,” said Don Loisel. “We set up a buffet for them so they can come in and try it all. They try the alligator. Some of them really like it, and some don’t. Like Chris says, Now you seen them. Now you fed them. Now you can eat them.'” The Loisel’s get groups from five to 65 at the buffet. At Jacob’s, the tourists get a chance to sample some of the meats and tour the smoke houses, the oldest one from 1928. Owner Aaron Lions is not hurting for business, as so many people stop in daily, but the out-of-towners are fascinated by the tour and samples they get. Joey Mason, manager at Jacob’s, said they give them andouille, smoked sausage and tasso, slices of pork meat that are smoked. “The tourists love it. A lot of them have us ship stuff to them. We always have good business here,” said Mason. Smits also wants to begin bringing tourists to see some of the raised cemeteries in the parish, since they are such a hit in New Orleans. Another aspect of the tour is the drive-thru daiquiri shops, which are an unknown phenomenon to most tourists. Smits also offers daiquiris and beer as part of his tour. At the day’s end, a person visiting St. John Parish can see an alligator, eat an alligator, drink Gator Bite – a hurricane daiquiri at Cajun Pride, tour a plantation, taste a slew of smoked meats, and if they are still in the mood for a little culture, they can stop at one of the raised cemeteries for a peek into a south Louisiana tradition.