October 2020

FEATURED COVER STORY

T

Real Deal Home Store by David Thompson

here’s a store in town that’ll treat you right. The

perfect look for you. Jim put it this way: “I can make a deal,

workers know what you want and get it to you on

but they make the pretty stuff!” Silk flowers for funerals

time. It’s a place where giving back to the community

are always popular here in the South. You can reuse them,

and helping your neighbor comes naturally. At the Real

and they never wilt or fade. Silk wreaths for your front

Deal Home Store, you’re sure to be treated like family.

door or fireplace are also a common choice. All of the floral

Owned by Jim Powell, the Real Deal Home Store has

arrangements are made in the store—nothing is imported or

been Lafayette’s top store for floral designs, home décor,

premade—and if you bring pictures of your house’s interior,

and collegiate apparel for the past 22 years. The store is

they’ll help you decorate and find what you want.

named after the ultimate real deal Himself, Jesus Christ. As

Home décor is always fun to shop for, and you’ll be

Jim put it, “We try to make it as personable as possible at the

able to find plenty of options here! Farmhouse-themed

best price we can do it. We try to give [customers] the real

furnishings are in style this year, decorations with black

deal and tell them about the Real Deal.”

and white Buffalo are trending as well as well as signs and

Jim grew up in a retail store and has run a cash register ever since he was a little boy. He was raised with the mindset that you don’t call in sick, and you always show up for work. Jim said, “I had perfect attendance in school, and my daughters had perfect attendance in school; it’s just how we were raised.” Jim is committed to excellence, and that means he’s committed to helping you. The Real Deal Home Store offers personalized floral and silk designs for your individual needs. Jim’s wife, Tracy, and his daughters, Amanda and Krista, all work as fulltime designers, and they always find a way to create the

22 // October 2020

gifts that bring smiles and laughter. Vera Bradley is another