ABCC Storage LLC climate-controlled units a step above

Alec Breaux, the former operator of Sunrise Fried Chicken, has a new business venture that he hopes will take him into retirement.

The 46-year-old Houma businessman opened ABCC Storage LLC on Cottage Drive this past November.

“After being in the restaurant business for years, I felt that I needed something else,” Breaux said. “I still own the Sunrise Fried Chicken franchise name, but I sold the rights to use the name and the recipes to a longtime employee, Jeff Gros, in 2008. Hopefully, this new business will take me into retirement.”

Breaux’s father, Arthur, opened Sunrise Fried Chicken in 1971. Alec purchased the franchise in 1998.

His new business venture consists of 103 climate-controlled storage units that range from 5-by-10 feet to 10-by-20 feet in size.

Breaux purchased the Cottage Drive property in October 2007. However, it took him nearly a year before construction could begin because he had to have the property rezoned.

Breaux said the property is in an R-3 residential zone, which did not allow storage facilities. Before opening, he needed the area to be designated a C-3 neighborhood commercial property zone. Once the paperwork was approved, the construction phase began and, two months later, ABCC Storage was ready for business.

The facility provides climate-controlled storage because in severely hot or cold weather, property can be damaged in standard storage units, Breaux explained.

Climate-controlled storage units are typically housed in a closed building. The closed environment can also provide increased protection from mold, mildew, dust and flooding, which are a threat in south Louisiana, he said.

Breaux said the units maintain a steady temperature of 60 to 80 degrees using central air conditioning and heat.

“As a general rule, the temperature in a climate-controlled storage unit should not fall below freezing in the winter or rise above 90 degrees in the summer,” he said. “If the geographic area where you live or work, like south Louisiana, exceeds 90 degrees in the summer but does not freeze in the winter, an air-conditioned unit would be the viable option.”

Climate-controlled units cost more than standard units, he said, but the added price is usually justified when one considers the value of the items customers store.

The climate-controlled environment generally ensures important home or business documents, computer equipment and electronics, wood or leather furniture, photographs, books, clothing, artwork and other valuable possessions remain safe, Breaux said.

“Maintaining a controlled environment prevents infestation of mice, wasps, termites and other vermin,” he added. “Wood and other valuable possessions won’t warp, crack, turn yellow, corrode or split.”

“Your possessions will look the same as they did prior to storage,” he said.

Breaux has also modernized the way people access their storage units. He offers keyless entry into the facility. Customers can only access their unit by entering a code into the keypad by the front door.

“None of the units have outside access,” he said. “For those customers who have to access their unit at night, they will not have to worry about being out in the open.”

Once inside the building, customers are responsible for supplying their own locks.

ABCC business hours are from Monday through Friday. But even when Breaux’s away from the premises, customers can still purchase storage units via a wireless credit card machine.

“Every day, I make a grid of the storage facility,” he said. “I know what’s available and what’s not available. When a customer calls me, I can give them their unit number that is specific to the size they need.”

Once the transaction is approved, he said, the customer receives a code to the front door to immediately access the storage unit. There’s a brief bit of paperwork – left just inside the door – that customers complete and leave behind for Breaux.

The simplicity in the rental process, the storage owner said, is what sets ABCC apart from competitors. Breaux said he receives two or three calls a day for rental units.

To accommodate the demand, he has plans to expand his storage space.

Breaux tentatively plans to add another 126 units to the 103 storage units he already has. The new units will include some standard units, which will only house metals like lawn equipment and hard plastics that will not split or crack, as well as climate-controlled spaces.

After working in the restaurant business for over 30 years, Alec Breaux decided to open ABCC Storage, a 103 unit climate-controlled storage facility, in Houma last November. His hope is that this new business venture takes him into retirement. * Photo by SOPHIA RUFFIN