Smoked Boudin - First Advertised: Early History of Modern Boudin
Who "invented" smoked boudin? Well, this is the location of the first meat market to advertise it . . . . .
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Today, smoked links of traditional boudin are regularly found at meat markets and grocery stores across South Louisiana and into East Texas. Following the historical record, it seems that Lane Sonnier, a young butcher at the Market Basket grocery store in Lake Charles was the first person to start commercially producing links of smoked boudin in 1985. However, the first documented advertising of smoked boudin is connected to Richter's Grocery and Smokehouse where they advertised "smoked" links of boudin for $1 in 1988. The advertising of smoked links here indicates that the smoked boudin phenomenon that currently exists got a slow start in various parts of the state.
Richter's Grocery and Smokehouse burned in the 1990s and the location currently has electrical distribution infrastructure on it.
Files
Smoked Boudin for Sale!
Cropped image of store advertisement. | Source: Daily World, Opelousas, Louisiana, Wed. August 3, 1988 | Date: 1988
Grocery Store Advertisment
Full page advertisement for Richter's Grocery and Smokehouse. | Source: Daily World, Opelousas, Louisiana, Wed. August 3, 1988 | Date: 1988
Site of the former Richter's Grocery and Smokehouse
This is the site where Richter's Grocery and Smokehouse stood. They are the first place to advertise "smoked boudin." As early as 1988 they were selling links of smoked boudin for $1.