Alayna Yarwood Staff
The small town of Cut Off, Louisiana, was home to a busy club called The Greenhouse — a hub for young adults from Cut Off, Larose and surrounding communities.
From 1982 to 2012, young adults would frequent The Greenhouse from Wednesday through Saturday nights to drink, dance, and hang with friends.
“The early days in the week were more for hanging out, and the crowds were not too big,” says Bull Johnson, who worked as a bouncer at The Greenhouse. “Wednesdays used to be ladies’ nights, but Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays were the busiest nights.”
Dancing and music were a big part of The Greenhouse.
Owner Toby Melancon’s daughter Shae Melancon says, “My dad was able to get bands from across the U.S and even outside of the U.S to play on that stage.”
Some of the bands that played on The Greenhouse stage were Dream Junkies, DNA, Crush, Enter the Machine, The Stranger, and Uncrowned.
“It was a place people enjoyed being at to meet up with friends; and a stage bands loved to play on.” Melancon says.
“It was a place people enjoyed being at to meet up with friends; and a stage bands loved to play on."
The Greenhouse was also known for its themed nights like glow parties, ’80s nights, and naughty Santa costume parties.
Crystal Redmond started going to The Greenhouse in 1984 when she was just 18 years old. A year later, Redmond met her husband at the club and they have been married for 33 years.
“It’s funny telling my kids I met their dad at The Greenhouse,” Redmond says. “We wouldn’t leave to go out until 9 p.m. and we stayed out until 4 a.m. We would mainly go to dance. ”
Melancon says after the BP oil spill in 2010, people didn’t have as much money and stopped going out to the club as much. Then the shopping center where The Greenhouse was located was not maintained after hurricanes, causing the club to close in 2012.
