ROUSES HISTORY

J.P. Rouse, father of Rouses founder Anthony Rouse Sr., is pictured here with colleagues in his produce shipping business.  Anthony grew up working alongside his father, learning the food industry as a young man and eventually opening a grocery store with his cousin, Ciro DiMarco in 1960.

     Founded in 1960 by Anthony J. Rouse, Sr., Rouses is now the largest Louisiana-owned grocery retailer with stores in Metairie, Houma, Thibodaux, Morgan City, Raceland, Lockport, Larose, Covington and Mandeville. The company opened a new store in Slidell on November 8, 2006.

     The first Rouses store was a 7,000-square-foot grocery in Houma, but today the stores range from 15,000 to over 70,000 square feet in size. With an increase in stores and business, there was an increase in employees. At the original store in Houma, there was a count of only four workers. Now, not only does Rouses employ over 2,000 people overall, but a new generation is minding the store. Sons Donald and Tommy Rouse are managing partners.

     The company is committed to Louisiana and proud of its heritage. "We're from Louisiana. We were born here. We grew up here. We know what people in Louisiana want, what they like to eat," said Donald Rouse. To that end, Rouses has developed its own line of home-smoked and Cajun Specialty Meats, including homemade sausage, boudin, head cheese, smoked meats, turduchen, and stuffed turkeys, chickens and brisket. Rouses also features an expanding group of products and services, including prepared meals based on Louisiana recipes, delis, bakeries, catering, fine wine, and boiled seafood. Donald Rouse is especially proud of Rouses boiled crawfish and shrimp. "We grew up boiling seafood. Those out-of-town chains don't even know how."  True to its Louisiana roots, Rouses also purchases produce, dairy and seafood from Louisiana farmers and fishermen, and stocks a wide variety of Louisiana products. "We're 100% behind our local farmers and fishermen," said Donald Rouse. This support is good for both the Louisiana economy and for Rouses customers alike. "The satsumas we see in the fields in the morning are in the stores by that afternoon."  

     The Rouses stores are also an active part of the communities where they are located. "Our customers don't just come to our stores to buy groceries. It's also a social experience," said Donald Rouse. "People hang out here. They get together for coffee, lunch or dinner, or sometimes all three. On weekends we have crawfish boils, cookouts and outdoor festivals in our parking lots. You see people you went to school with or grew up with. Everyone shows up."

     Rouses store formats include a Superstore in Houma, and Epicures in Houma, Thibodaux and Mandeville. These Epicures provide traditional supermarket offerings, as well as a multitude of new and upscale products, including the largest supermarket selection of wines in the state.