Judice Inn

Judice Inn is a Modern style building, built as a hamburger restaurant next to the old highway leading to Abbeville, Louisiana. It was an Auto Era roadside building, built by the Judice brothers, Marc and Alcide Judice. It was built on Judice family property in 1947, at the southern edge of Lafayette’s city limits. With the help and support of their wives, Pearl Cormier Judice and Gladys Bourque Judice, the brothers opened the business while they worked at full-time jobs elsewhere. The diner soon became a popular social scene for college students and professionals. It remains a local favorite, regarded by many as the “best hamburger in town since 1947”. Judice family members have worked there over the years and often return to visit, sometimes lending a hand during busy hours. It is not unusual to be waited on by a lawyer, doctor, banker, engineer, or other professional when the restaurant is busy. Modern architectural elements of this building can be seen in the chrome coping and rounded edges at the roof eaves, the large plate glass windows at the street, and the tapering brick parapet wing wall at the diner’s front entrance.