Five o’ clock marks the usual closing time for merchants in Antique Ally. But, as Downtown After Dark kicked off last Thursday, merchants saw shop-goers enjoy a little late-night shopping.

There were around 25 merchants that kept their doors open past normal hours to help make Downtown After Dark a reality.

One of these shops was The Rustique Gator run by husband and wife, Troy and Stephanie Cage.

The South Louisiana based store was busy supplying event-goers with everything from Cajun food products, home décor and tourist gifts.

“What we do is travel all over the state of Louisiana finding all the unique Louisiana products, and we get the connection with the people to be able to buy wholesale from them and bring it back here,” said Cage while explaining his unique shop. He also touched on the event itself and how it is great for the community.

“Downtown is growing. There’s new stores coming in, and we’re really excited about it,” he added. 

Karen Laban, president of the Antique Alley Merchant Association and owner of The Spice and Tea Exchange, helped organize the evning event.

“A lot of the shops close at five, so what we’re trying to do is push store hours later and give the community an opportunity to shop when they get off work,” Laban said.

“We thought with it going into the fall, it would cool down some and give people an opportunity to start shopping later.”

With temperatures dropping, the merchants are working towards keeping their doors open longer in the future so that more people can enjoy all Antique Alley has to offer.

The alley was formed in 1987 when a group of six antique dealers came together to form the Antique Alley Merchant’s Association.