Owner: Thieves Raid Schilling Shack, Steal Construction Tools

Back in October, the owners of the Hideaway on Lee in Downtown Lafayette bought the old Schilling Shack on Refinery Drive with the purpose of converting it into a dance hall. That work began in earnest shortly after they bought the venue had had been progressing smoothly--that is, until this morning.

According to owner Wilson Savoy, someone broke into the old Schilling Shack early Tuesday morning and stole construction tools from the site. In a Facebook post, Savoy says he was awakened twice by alarms from the site, once around 1:30 a.m. and again at 3 a.m. According to Wilson, the thieves stole a total of $2,000 in tools from the construction site.

"Guess I got too careless and trusting of people," Savoy wrote. "Need to step up security a few notches."

Savoy says the burglary was one part of a terrible day. He says he later had to repair a sewer line at the Hideaway on Lee that was clogged with tree roots.

Still, Savoy was quick to put his troubles in perspective.

" . . . I think of what’s happening in the Ukraine, and when today ends, at least no one was hurt or killed here at home, and it could’ve been worse," Savoy wrote.

If you have any information about this burglary, call Lafayette Crime Stoppers at 337-232-TIPS.

Seven Forgotten Facts About Lafayette

The area now known as downtown Lafayette was first settled 200 years ago. While the street grid of that original settlement is the same as it was then, the rest of the city has grown and changed exponentially. Let's take a look at some of those changes by taking a look at some of the forgotten facts in Lafayette history.