Griffin's Service Station, which stands in the center of Bunkie along U.S. 71, Main Street, has become the prime photo op for visitors. The spot not only features a Bunkie postcard mural but also retro gas station signs while offering full service fillups.
Bunkie, the city said to be named after a toy monkey, is now a tourist destination.
Yes, the same Bunkie that bordered either side of U.S. 71 with shuttered buildings not so long ago — the same place whose name was mocked by people throughout the state.
Now those same people are stopping for Instagram shots and selfies in front of the city's downtown mural, eating homemade cakes in the cafe at Griffin's Antiques & Main Street Market and parking their RVs at Gator Grounds while their kids swim the lazy river in the resort's water park.
That's right. There's an RV resort in Bunkie, and it also has a golf course. As for the downtown, everything's open for business these days.
Wilbert Carmouche, director of the Avoyelles Commission of Tourism, folds his umbrella on a rainy day before entering Griffin's Antiques and Main Street Market at lunchtime in Bunkie.
And one of the major businesses flowing through Bunkie is tourism.
The city isn't the butt of anyone's joke anymore.
"I've been calling Bunkie a revitalized retro town," said Wilbert Carmouche, director of the Avoyelles Commission of Tourism. "I think it's the perfect description, because that's exactly what it is."
Carmouche is right. Though new businesses occupy the once closed buildings, the buildings still bear the original proprietors' names. As for the downtown businesses themselves, most are the same kind of novelty establishments that attract travelers on vacation.
Griffin's Antiques and Main Street Market is named for the original department store that originally occupied the building. The business offers a cafe in the front and an antiques mall in the back and upstairs.
Or local travelers looking for day trips.
Bunkie's revitalization starts with businessman Gregory B. Kojis, owner of Gibko Signs on the edge of town.
"Greg's sign shop built all of this," said Leslie Jusselin, owner of Griffin's and Kojis' business partner. "We have pictures of the beginning. There was nothing in here."
Not so today. Jusselin and business partner Claire Pilgreen operate a cafe at the front of Griffin's at 228 S.W. Main St., where a variety of pies are made fresh daily. The menu also includes a complete selection of lunch items with po-boys on bread baked in-house.
Gator Grounds Resort in Bunkie is an RV park that offers a waterpark, an indoor pool and recreation facility and a nine-hold golf course. Visitors must be RV campers to stay there, though the park also offers a couple of cabins for campers without RVs.
The building next door to the antique shop operates as the market's bakery.
"The building next door used to be Mr. Fattie's barbershop," Jusselin said. "So, we kept the name. It's a bakery now, but it still has Fattie's name on it, and we bake and cook all of our food there."
As for Griffin's, it's named for the 1904 department store that originally operated out of the building.
And Hoover's down the street? It was once Hoover's Dry Cleaners at 202 S.W. Main St., but now it operates as Hoover's 5 & 10, an old-fashioned dime store, where shelves are filled with retro candies, toys, soft drinks and other items from yesteryear.
Walk into Hoover's 5 & 10 along U.S. 71, Bunkie's Main Street, and you'll see the shelves stocked with such novelty soft drinks as Bacon Soda.
Through a selection of novelty retro soft drinks, one in particular stands out: Bacon Soda.
Try it if you dare. Then again, a lot of customers are game to try a lot of things in this store, simply because it reminds them of the old five-and-dime stores from their childhoods.
"Greg told us that he visited the five-and-dime store in old downtown Branson, Missouri, and asked how they put theirs together," Carmouche said. "Then he modeled his store on theirs."
Branson's store, Dick's 5&10, bills itself as the "Last of an American tradition." But Kojis' Bunkie store debunks that statement.
The entryway to Hoover's 5 & 10 along U.S. 71, Bunkie's Main Street. The store is named for the longtime business, Hoover's Drycleaners, that once occupied the building. It's now a general store offering novelty items, including candy and soft drink.
Griffin's on the corner also houses an antiques and handicrafts mall behind its cafe and in its second story. The store is one of several antiques shops located in the city's downtown area, but it's the only one that stands across from Griffin's Service Station at 302 S.W. Main St.
This isn't just any gas station — it offers full service, meaning an attendant will gas up customers' cars while also wiping down windshields.
That's not saying customers can't get out and explore. In fact, Kojis, also the benefactor behind this enterprise, designed the station just for that.
Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce greet visitors for photo ops on the second story of Griffin's Antiques and Main Street Market. Actually, they're cardboard cutouts of the stars, but they're perfect for selfies.
Gas pumps stand on the backdrop of a wall-sized postcard mural spelling out "Bunkie," below a banner touting the 70 vendors in the antique mall. Each letter in the Bunkie spell-out features a landmark in the city, and it's all picture-ready for group shots and selfies.
Alongside the station stands a row of retro gas station signs for the Shell, Standard Oil, Sinclair and Mobil companies, their placement just right for family group shots.
And on top of the pavilion sheltering the gas pumps is a restored blue '57 Chevy, complete with tail fins and headlights that come on when the station lights up at dusk.
"They staged a grand opening for the station in early August, where they charged only 25 cents a gallon for gas," Carmouche said. "They've also erected a large cross on the edge of the station, which is lit up at night, and it's absolutely beautiful. The gas station definitely is a favorite photo spot for travelers."
Gator Grounds features a waterpark. The RV resort also offers a golf course. Its entryway stands along Robbins Road in Bunkie.
For visitors who want to spend a little time exploring more of the area, there are several overnight options. Of course, they can take the 18-mile trek along La. 115 to Marksville, where accommodations usually are readily available at the Paragon Casino Resort's hotel or the Hampton Inn across the street.
Along the same highway, there's also the Knights Inn Bunkie, 3541 La. 115, which offers 42 rooms, a pool, gym and laundry facility.
For those wanting to stay within the Bunkie area, the Evergreen Bed & Breakfast, 1461 La. 29, offers eight bedroom rentals at prices ranging from $200 to $600.
The establishment is a reproduction of the National Landmark Evergreen Plantation main house that stands in near Wallace in St. John the Baptist Parish, its trademark feature being the winding staircases on either side of its entrance.
Evergreen Bed & Breakfast is located at 1461 E. La. 29 in Bunkie. The business offers easy access to tourist sites from its luxurious setting.
For RV campers, there's Gator Grounds, 200 Golf Course Road, with its water park, indoor swimming facility and golf resort. The park also offers a couple of cabins for travelers without RVs. Both Evergreen and Gator Grounds are owned and operated by Kojis.
And for both day-trippers and overnight travelers, Bunkie offers a variety of locally owned eating options, including Rocky's Tails & Shells at 126 Lyle Ave., Dugout Neighborhood Grill at 124 Lyle Ave., Zapote Mexican Grill at 1023 N.W. Main St., Bunkie Pizza Shack at 412 N.W. Main St., Bernice's Sandwich Shop at 911 S.W. Main St. and Sammy's Truck & Auto Plaza, 3601 La. 115.
The Facebook page, Bunkie Buz, makes it easy to plan a trip to Bunkie, as the page promotes the city's Main Street tourist destinations and happenings.
Bunkie's historical St. Anthony Padua Catholic Church is worth a stop to see its stained glass.
Visitors can also stop by the restored Bunkie Train Depot along Main Street operated by the Bunkie of Chamber of Commerce, which has information on all events in the area, especially the annual Louisiana Corn Festival that place the second full weekend in June.
Finally, for those interested in the area's history, there's St. Anthony of Padua Catholic Church, 409 St. John St. The parish was founded in 1904 to support Italian immigrants in the area.
"People are rediscovering Bunkie," Carmouche said. "The city really does have a lot to offer."
For more information, visit travelavoyelles.com.