Scattered among the racks of T-shirts, shelves of picture frames and walls of wooden paddles at the Balfour House in Baton Rouge are Greek letters. Delta, Sigma, Zeta, Kappa, Alpha and more adorn nearly every square inch of the interior. The store’s entire inventory is marketed toward members of Greek affiliations.
Balfour House is filled with a variety of sorority and fraternity paraphernalia — an entire wall is dedicated to Panhellinic sororities. Glassware, picture frames, and flip flops are available for every Greek sorority on LSU’s campus, including some that aren’t.
The store has been at its Burbank Drive location since 2012. Owner Angela Quint said a dispute over rent at the business’ previous location on Highland Road led her and spouse Pat to relocate and expand inventory with the larger space.
Like the store’s location problem, Quint said they have learned to deal with the highs and lows, but that being in a college town has been beneficial to business.
“Good times or bad times, sorority life, fraternity life — it’s not going anywhere,” Angela said. “We support it wholeheartedly.”
Angela and Pat, high school sweethearts from Mobile, made their home in Louisiana when the two came LSU, together.
Balfour House was originally a division of Balfour Graduation Co. and Pat, who designs custom frat jackets, was the store’s first employee, working during college. Balfour House soon expanded with 11 other individually owned locations across the country buying in bulk and selling merchandise in storefronts.
Pat loved the job; it got “in his blood.”  It was always his dream to eventually own the business.  However, Angela’s family owned a boutique in Monroe and knew what it was like to own a business.  Initially, she was not interested in the hassle or the worries.
“I kept saying, ‘I don’t want it. I don’t want it,’” Angela said. “Because it was [Pat’s] dream, but I knew I would end up with it.”
But after many years and two more owners, Angela said she was finally ready to step down from her day-to-day banking job and pursue owning the store. The Quints officially took the store in their name on March 1, 2009.
Of the 12 Balfour Houses that originally comprised the conglomerate, only one other remains open – in Norman, Okla. Angela said she is amazed there aren’t more stores around the country like hers.
“People are begging us to open our store in their location,” Angela said. “We get calls from all over the country, and we ship everywhere … We’re the only store around that’s totally Greek.”
Angela said the business has sold items across the country to schools like the universities of Alabama, Auburn, Virginia and Tennessee.
The business is seasonal with most of the action coming, naturally, during the traditional school year.  But sales during sororities’ bid weeks alone add up to two months of regular business.
LSU junior and member of the Delta Zeta sorority Abby Landry said while purchases at Balfour House can be on the pricier side, the quality of work is worth the money.
The only other store in the area that sells any Greek items is Sanctuary Home and Gifts, but the store doesn’t cater to the Greek crowd exclusively. Because the employees at Balfour House are members of sororities and fraternities, Landry said they can be helpful when customers need to make decisions.
Owning her own business doesn’t come stress-free, but Angela said she likes the rewards of being her own boss.
Angela, who graduated from LSU with a finance degree, said she now tries to have fun after working behind a desk for 25 years. She said she would never go back to banking and now chooses to fulfill Pat’s dream.
Currently, Pat works for Exxon, providing the steady income needed to put three kids through school, but will return to Balfour House when he retires to run the business, Angela said.
“We’re in it for the long haul.  If my kids want to take it over, good for them. If not, it’s been a fun ride.”

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Jennifer Vance (Manship News Service)

A wall at Balfour House is divided by sororities with shirts, cups and other knick-knacks available for purchase.