Lewis Gifts: The Gift of Giving

A gift is something given freely, a one-way exchange made with no expectation of compensation. A gift is given as a sign of friendship, affection, or support; “gift” can be defined as the power to give, the act of giving, or the gift itself. It can also denote a natural ability or talent, as in “she has a gift for languages.” When you shop for the perfect gift, you try to think of what would be the most special or meaningful to your friend or family member, what would give them the gift of happiness.

  Lewis Gifts in Shreveport has been a gift to the Shreveport community in every sense of the word. The employees have a knack for helping you find just the right thing, and they are committed to making your experience there memorable. It’s not just about walking in and out at Lewis Gifts; the Lewis family has spent years perfecting and adding to their business to make it an exciting destination. A large, beautifully decorated space with swooping arches syncopated by elegant columns, a trickling fountain, numerous colorful displays, and even a gourmet café for hungry and thirsty shoppers, Lewis Gifts offers a huge assortment of gifts, clothes, and household items. The store has become a meeting place for friends and families over the years and a destination for not only the people of Shreveport, but also loyal customers as far away as Texas and Arkansas.

  The Lewis family has offered service to customers for the past 75 years, starting out in the early 1900s as a neighborhood drugstore complete with a soda fountain, gifts, and sundry items. When Brian Lewis and his wife Mary Jean took over in the 1980s, they decided to revamp the business, so they sold the pharmacy and began to focus solely on gifts. “There weren’t that many gift shops back in the 80s, so we grew really fast,” says Mary Jean. “Our most recent upgrade was to purchase the place across the street we’d been eyeing for years. We purchased the whole shopping complex two years ago and renovated our space. Our store is now 12,000 square feet, and we rent out a few of the other spaces in the complex to other stores.” What used to be a small café in the corner of the shop is now a thriving restaurant, Café Biscotti. Run by Mike Lewis (Brian and Mary Jean’s son), Biscotti offers gourmet fare like fried green tomatoes, shrimp and grits, and fresh salads. They also offer private catering services.

  “We invested a great deal of time and care in the new location, and we just love what it’s become. We created a beautiful wall fountain surrounded by Italian tiles, added arches and columns, put a long banquette in Biscotti’s, and installed old chandeliers running all the way down the hallway. We spent a lot of time on the lighting—it’s very important. We wanted to give the store an old, ageless feeling,” says Mary Jean. She and her daughter Catherine planned the entire renovation project with the help of designer Brucie Glassel.

  “My daughter and I do all the buying and the floor plans. We go to market probably eight times a year, mostly in New York, Dallas, and Atlanta. We’re always looking for new things. There are several companies that have grown with us for the past 20 years; they make up our core group of vendors.”

  “We offer so much: beautiful children’s clothing, designer jewelry, hand-painted pottery, women’s clothing, custom bedding, and the largest selection of fine china and crystal in Louisiana. We’re really like a department store—we do a little bit of everything,” she says.

  “We have also become the largest bridal registry in Louisiana that I know of. We get about 20 brides a month. A lot of them don’t live in Shreveport, but they come to us because the guests love being able to order through the website. We send a notice out to guests; it’s convenient for them to go online, pick something out, and have it shipped,” explains Mary Jean.

  In October, the store is festooned with the annual autumnal display and alight with holiday energy. “As a fourth generation family-owned company, we are proud of the level we’ve reached. We provide excellent service in a beautiful space, and we have many loyal customers, some who have built relationships with the employees here for the past 20 or 25 years. We want people to come, shop, eat a little, relax and visit, and then shop some more. We try to make it fun and entertaining, and we love what we do,” she says. ✦

Lewis Gifts
5807 Youree Drive
Shreveport, LA 70115
318-868-6700
lewisgifts.com