Carencro got its name from the Cajun word for carrion crow, but now, it’s the people flocking to the Lafayette parish. “Carencro is where the next wave of growth is happening in Lafayette, especially on the south side,” says Realtor Arla Slaughter with Latter & Blum and Louisiana native. Amazon recently opened a new distribution center in the neighborhood and locals are seeing more and more housing developments. Even with all of the changes, Carencro still holds onto its history and traditions through local events and businesses.
Find Cajun classics in Carencro
In historic downtown Carencro, Swanky’s sits in the town’s oldest building, still standing from 1901. This town staple serves Cajun and southern classics, like po'boys, seafood platters and stuffed shrimp. Fat Pat’s Bar and Grill is a Lafayette franchise with only six locations, serving nachos, burgers and seafood to locals. For breakfast food, Guilbeau’s Coffee Bar and Café has coffee and protein shakes to wake locals up in the mornings. It also brings Cajun and southern food to the menu, offering grits, gumbo and beignet fries.
Carencro has many options for grocery shopping within its boundaries. Champagne’s Market is a locally owned grocery store. Residents can also head to Super 1 Foods or the Walmart Supercenter. Mouton’s Food Mart is a convenience store.
Carencro residents can enjoy casual dining and live sports games at Fat Pat's.
Super 1 Foods is the grocery store of choice for Carencro residents.
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Carencro's Mardi Gras parade
Mardi Gras is a big deal in Lafeyette, with each neighborhood in the parish sporting its own parade. The Carencro Parade has run for 40 years, complete with decorated floats and people tossing beads into the crowd lining the street. Some spectators even camp out in pontoon boats and bring nets to optimize bead catching. Twice a year in the fall and spring, the Mercredi Show is an outdoor music series at Pelican Park featuring local performers. Mercredi is French for Wednesdays, reminding residents when concerts occur.
Rolling hills and sports centers
“Carencro has beautiful parks with rolling hills and oak trees that just make it visually different than the rest of Lafayette,” Slaughter says. Carencro Park has 17 acres of open areas and athletic fields. It offers tennis and basketball courts alongside general fields where locals can play soccer or football. Pelican Park has turf fields and four baseball diamonds. It hosts youth athletic leagues and high school practices and games. The Carencro Sports Complex has an indoor turf field open year-round. With air conditioning, it can help locals exercise while escaping the Louisiana heat.
Baseball is the favorite sports-related pastime in the Carencro neighborhood.
Carencro Park in Carencro has a large playground area as well as many public sports fields.
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Housing diversity outside of the greater Lafayette area
“What is nice about Carencro is there’s a big diversity of housing options,” Slaughter says. “From $2 million equine estates to high-density mixed-use development closer to $275,000.” Amazon recently acquired the old Evangeline Downs Racetrack, but Carencro’s equine culture still remains in the houses, where people own horses on acres and acres of land. Many homes in Carencro sport are Acadian- and French-style houses with steep, sloped gabled roofs and front porches. New construction featuring Craftsman ranches is becoming more popular as Carencro develops further.
A two-story, French-style Mansion with a detached boat garage in Carencro.
Residents of Carencro are very close and are often than not an extension of family.
Carencro is an established neighborhood with most of the homes being built in the 1980s.
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Science and technology in Carencro schools
Carencro Heights Elementary School receives a B-minus from Niche. At Carencro Middle School, students can enroll in the Biomedical Academy, where they can learn about the life sciences, human biology and health and microbiology. Niche also ranks this school a B-minus. Carencro High School houses the Academy of Information Technology, which teaches students about different facets of modern technology, from Adobe and Photoshop to coding through HTML. Niche grants the school a C-plus.
Carencro Heights Elementary School in Carencro encourages students to achieve their dreams.
Carencro Middle School in Carencro offers a positive, supportive environment for its students.
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Close to Lafayette amenities
Carencro is a car-dependent community, but major motorways help residents get around. Also called the Evangeline Thruway, I-49 runs through the center of Carencro and links it to downtown Lafayette, only 8 miles away. Ten miles away is Lafayette Regional Airport, which hosts large airlines, like Delta and United. The nearest hospital is Ochsner Lafayette General Medical Center, located 8 miles from Carencro.
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