Thunderstorms likely this evening. Then a chance of scattered thunderstorms overnight. Low around 75F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 60%..

Thunderstorms likely this evening. Then a chance of scattered thunderstorms overnight. Low around 75F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 60%.

Walk into Premier Gifting Co. in Cut Off today and you’ll see a gorgeous, well-kept store with beautiful florals, gift items and more — all kept in a lovely brick and mortar storefront in Cut Off. 

To the outsider, you’d never recognize or know the work that’s gone into the past 12 months to get the business back up and running after the devastations of Hurricane Ida.

The local business was one of many that was damaged by Ida with the storm completely blowing the roof off the building, which caused rain to soak the inside of the building and causing a complete rebuild.

Today, a year after the storm, the business is up and running and store owner Nicole Brudnock said it’s a blessing to see just how much their hard work has paid off. Also a blessing is seeing the friendly faces within the store again — locals who Brudnock said were desperately missed during the rebuild when the store was forced to close for more than 10 months. 

“The community support has been amazing,” she said. “It warms my soul to see returning customers come in with smiling faces telling us thank you for rebuilding.” 

The past year following Ida was a great challenge to Brudnock and her team, because Ida dealt a vicious blow to the popular local business.

As the storm moved in, it tore the entire roof off the business, peeling it completely off of the structure. 

“The metal roof peeling completely off the structure,” Brudnock said. “Causing the entire store to have rain inside throughout the storm.”

Those soaking rains and winds called for a virtual total-loss and total rebuild of the business.

Brudnock said the decision to re-open at all was not easy because of insurance and other factors. 

But at the end of the day, she said the decision was made to re-open out of the love she and her team have for our community. They wanted to come back to make a statement that our community was going to bounce back after Ida.

“It was very difficult,” she said. “With the rising cost of insurances and the cost of goods, it makes it hard for a small business to survive. But the passion and love of what I do helped us make the decision. We love helping out the amazing people in the community.” 

The rebuild took 10 1/2 months total, and during that time, the business had to remain closed.

“We basically re-built a building from the ground up,” Brudnock said. 

But the store was able to re-open its doors on July 18, and the business owner said it’s been a blessing to see familiar faces and to provide its offerings to the community. Premier Gifting Co offers many services, including fresh florals, silks, embroidery, screen print services, laser engraving, a nice selection of gift items and much, much more. 

The business is located at 168 La. Highway 3161 in Cut Off. It is open from 9:30 a.m - 4:30 p.m. on Monday-Friday.

Brudnock said she’s happy with the re-opening, the response the community has given Premier Gifting Co., and she said she hopes to continue to grow into the future. 

Ida delivered a blow, but it wasn’t a knockout punch. And now back open and operating, the business’s focus is forward toward the future with the challenges of the past year now behind them. 

“We intend to grow our customer base both commercial and individual and continue to provide a one-on-one customer base service,” Brudnock said. 

Your comment has been submitted.

There was a problem reporting this.

Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language. PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK. Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated. Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything. Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism that is degrading to another person. Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts. Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article.

Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup.

Error! There was an error processing your request.

Classifieds from The Lafourche Gazette

Have the latest local news delivered every afternoon so you don't miss out on updates.

Each day's obituaries, delivered to your inbox.

Get the latest headlines on local sports!

We'll send breaking news and news alerts to you as they happen!

Receive our newspaper electronically with the e-Edition email.

Sorry, there are no recent results for popular commented articles.