Borden's Ice Cream Shoppe — Restaurant in Lafayette

I recently had a deeply unpleasant experience at Bordens Ice Cream Shoppe in Lafayette, LA, located at 1103 Jefferson St 70503. As someone from the area, who was returning home after a challenging term of Active Duty Military service, I was looking forward to some comfort food and a pleasant outing with my child. However, my visit to this ice cream shop left me thoroughly disappointed and upset.

The trouble began when I attempted to pay for our ice cream using Apple Pay, a convenient method I often rely on when I'm out with my child and prefer not to carry my wallet. To my surprise and dismay, the cashier, who had taken our orders, informed me that Apple Pay was not an accepted payment option at this establishment.

I offered to send the payment directly, but I was told that this wasn't possible. Given that my wallet was conveniently located in my vehicle, just feet away from the register, I explained my intention to transfer funds and complete the transaction promptly. This is where things took a truly unfortunate turn.

Dealing with post-military life, I've been diagnosed with PTSD and anxiety, making outdoor outings with my child a rare occurrence. After enjoying some quality time with my son and allowing him to start eating his ice cream, the cashier interrupted us, saying, "I'll take that payment whenever you're ready." I kindly requested to finish our ice cream before dealing with the payment, as it was imperative to me that my son enjoyed his treat without interruption.

But within a mere five minutes, she repeated her demand, clearly showing impatience. I reassured her that I had no intention of leaving without settling the bill, and I simply needed a bit more time. Instead of understanding my situation, she continued to stare at me with a level of suspicion that was entirely uncalled for.

Desperate to avoid any further confrontation and in consideration of my son's enjoyment, I even offered to leave him inside the shop while I retrieved my card from my car. However, the situation escalated when all three associates started staring at me, making me feel targeted and uncomfortable.

Desperate to leave the distressing atmosphere and end the ordeal, I requested my banana split to go, paid for my son's ice cream, and left the establishment immediately. It has been an hour since this distressing incident, and I am still in tears as I recount this negative experience.

It's truly disheartening to believe that I may have been racially profiled and subjected to discriminatory treatment at Bordens Ice Cream Shoppe. Every customer deserves to be treated with respect, patience, and empathy, regardless of their background or circumstances. My visit to this ice cream shoppe was marred by an utter lack of customer service, understanding, and equal treatment, leaving me with nothing but disappointment and distress.

I can say without a doubt that me, nor my family members will visit...

My family and I have been coming here for years. Always great service and good ice cream. However, tonight, after a long day of remote working and homeschooling, I thought I would bring my sister (who is visiting from out of town), to Borden’s for a sweet treat before settling in for the night. I THOUGHT Borden was open until 10 pm every night but apparently I was wrong. How ever wrong I was, my sister and I and my two young children did not deserve the treatment we received tonight. After waiting behind 2 cars in the line and getting up to the window, a small rude worker opened the window and said “we stop serving people who come through the line after 9. Hope you have a good night!” And slammed the glass window in our faces ALL KINDS OF RUDE. His words may sound friendly but he was not being friendly - he was being condescending and demeaning. He even held up a peace sign as we drove off as if to say “that’s right - I said that!” My sister and I were in complete shock. It was appalling and offensive. It was 9:11 and like I said, I THOUGHT we were well within the time frame to be served. That little guy could have told us in a more professional and decent manner. You just don’t treat people like that PERIOD. I just really hate leaving a place that I’ve patronized for so long feeling like I’ve been...

A great place to get ice cream! Each order is made on the spot by the individual serving you, including in-drive through. So if you want to get in and out going inside is much faster since they have more workers inside. Drive through is just managed by one worker so expect to be waiting in line. The menu is always available on Borden’s website for when your are in-drive through or just planning ahead of time! The historic atmosphere is absolute eye candy for you to look at while you are there, and the friendly staff is always on the ball. It’s a popular place to go so weekends and nights are really busy, so just make sure to plan ahead. (Also closing times are closing times and I understand that everyone has a home to go back to after work, and I wish I saw more people in the reviews who understood this.) I go here all the time and I’d recommend getting a small orange flip(made with orange sherbet and milk) with a shot of vanilla! It’s really delicious :) Thank you for many years...