Just Lost our Last Dive Shop

[diver 85]

Shed a little tear this Monday morning. Just got an email from Cajun Divers, our one and only dive shop here in Lafayette, LA. The owner has closed his storefront. It's the poor economy. He will still go around giving lessons and some preventative maintenance. But as a functioning dive shop, it's over. This is a city with a population of over 150,000 and we have no dive shop. Thanks Cajun Divers for your 13 years. I will miss you.

I got an email from Andy on Oct 26th stating this------never been in the shop(live over 100 miles away) but have talked to him a couple of times in the past about some diving matters ie trips he had planned & wife & I were considering going on 1 or 2 of them....

Sorry to hear.......You might be like me now, ie you're LDS shop tele-number will start with 1-800 & be several hundred miles a way.....

EDIT:----If you're truely in need of a LDS, here's one to highly consider-----They're in Lake Charles(about an hour away--same for me) but will be around for a while longer.....Ask for Cher or Darrell (Walker), owners....BTW, we have done some great trips with them also, last one Dominica!!!....

http://www.truebluewatersports.com/

 

[ReefHound]

I asked Andy at Cajun Divers about the existence of any dive clubs around Lafayette when I took the OW class. He said he tried to start one a few years ago, but could not generate enough interest to get one going. :depressed:

Most divers I know don't want a dive club operated by a dive shop. Too often they are just used to keep their customers captive and milk more money out of them. Not all, I'm sure. But I've seen too many that were really just a "customer club" where the newsletters were basically advertisements and the meetings were typically about some trip or piece of gear they were pushing.

 

[waynel]

I got an email from Andy on Oct 26th stating this------never been in the shop(live over 100 miles away) but have talked to him a couple of times in the past about some diving matters ie trips he had planned & wife & I were considering going on 1 or 2 of them....

Sorry to hear.......You might be like me now, ie you're LDS shop tele-number will start with 1-800 & be several hundred miles a way.....

EDIT:----If you're truely in need of a LDS, here's one to highly consider-----They're in Lake Charles(about an hour away--same for me) but will be around for a while longer.....Ask for Cher or Darrell (Walker), owners....BTW, we have done some great trips with them also, last one Dominica!!!....

Learn to Scuba Dive!

Thanks for the info. I grew up in Lake Charles. I didn't realize there was a shop there. Thanks again.

 

[laurz]

So sorry to hear that, the place I got certified back in 2004 shut down two years ago.

 

[vettebrett]

:depressed::depressed::depressed:

 

[SCUBASailor]

I've been told that Cajun Divers will be opening at a new location in the spring. I don't know where, or exactly when, though.

 

[greghidalgo]

I talked to Andy and he said that Cajun Divers will not re-open in the spring. Andy is a good guy that got caught in bad times.

 

[greghidalgo]

Divers Destination will be opening in a few weeks in the old Cajun Divers building.

 

[SCUBASailor]

I talked to Andy and he said that Cajun Divers will not re-open in the spring. Andy is a good guy that got caught in bad times.

With the posts I've seen here about Cajun Divers not re-opening, I decided to call Andy today and find out for myself what his plans are. He says he is sticking by the information he e-mailed out to his customers at the time of closing. He told me that he is, indeed, planning on re-opening in the spring. He says he is choosing from a couple of possible locations, but does not have a definite opening date yet. He does not have his pump running at this time, and probably won't have it wired in until he re-opens.

Mr. Hidalgo, you contradict direct information from Andy. It would have been more honest for you to have made it clear to us that you are Andy's former landlord, and have a vested interest in the outcome of all this. You seem to be disseminating incorrect information about his plans here. I don't really don't know what your intentions are, but it seems rather suspicious to me.

 

[Crush]

Mr. Hidalgo, you contradict direct information from Andy. It would have been more honest for you to have made it clear to us that you are Andy's former landlord, and have a vested interest in the outcome of all this. You seem to be disseminating incorrect information about his plans here. I don't really don't know what your intentions are, but it seems rather suspicious to me.

Good, measured response and good on you for keeping him honest.