Bill to fund Morganza refilled
January 8, 2007NSU student among UL Lafayette scholarship winners
January 10, 2007
One family supermarket franchise’s goal is not to expand all over the State of Louisiana, but rather to be the best at serving quality products for the residents in Southeast Louisiana.
Nearly 50 years ago, Anthony Rouse Sr., along with his cousin Ciro DiMarco, opened Ciro’s Supermarket in Houma. Rouse grew up around the food distribution industry since his father, J.P. Rouse, owned his own produce shipping business. After Anthony’s partner retired in 1975, Ciro’s became known as Rouse’s Supermarket.
Today, Rouse’s is the largest Louisiana-owned grocery retailer. Anthony Rouse’s sons, Tommy and Donald Rouse, operate the business. Rouse turned the reigns over to his sons, but he still frequents Rouse’s headquarters to make sure that the boys are conducting business just the way he did years ago, according to Donald Rouse, one of the managing partners.
An independent supermarket, Rouse’s is a privately held company where the owners are in the stores and handle the day-to-day operations of the business. The company is not controlled by stockholders or a board of directors, enabling the owners to make decisions “at the drop of a dime,” if need be, said Donald Rouse.
The first Rouse’s store was a 7,000-square-foot supermarket in Houma, which cost approximately $20,000 to build. Donald Rouse said today the stores range from 15,000- to 70,000 square feet in size and cost anywhere from $10 million to $12 million to build.
The city of Thibodaux, where the Rouse’s headquarters is located, was the second place to receive a Rouse’s Supermarket in 1975. The company opened its 16th grocery store in Slidell on Nov. 8. It is currently working on number 17 near Lafayette.
There are four Rouse’s in Terrebonne Parish, three in Lafourche Parish, and one in St. Mary Parish.
The family business consists of 2,000 employees, which includes several members of the Rouse family tree. The family members are spread throughout the company where they are needed most, said one of the Rouse children.
“As the stores and businesses increased there was an increase in workers. At the original store in Houma during the 1960s there were only four workers,” Donald Rouse said.
Anthony and his wife Joyce bore six children, who are now key employees in the family business. Rouse said most of his siblings, nieces, nephews, children and in-laws work with the Rouse’s Corporation.
Donald Rouse has been a part of the business since 1978. He said watching the business grow over the years has been amazing, fun and intense. “But, we love serving the people,” he said.
Looking into the future, Donald Rouse said there are no plans to expand in northern Louisiana, although the company owns a supermarket in Covington. The furthest Rouse Corporation will be near Lafayette.
“Right now the store is in the planning stages. It will be our furthest store to the west,” Rouse’s Marketing Director Tim Acosta said.
In recent years, the Rouse family business has developed a plan to ensure that customers frequent the family business. Donald Rouse said they are starting to build shopping centers along with the Rouse’s Supermarket. “We try to find a location where we can go in with an entire shopping center, which include restaurants and retail businesses,” he said.
What makes Rouse’s stand out over the other supermarkets in the Tri-parishes?
Its retail pricing is lower than the other competing supermarkets, according to the managing partner. Acosta said Rouse’s carries most products that are native to Southeast Louisiana. He believes that they provide better service and fresher product than their competitors.
The future one stop shop’s success partly comes from the family being so in bedded into the business. The managing partner said Rouse’s main goal is to cater to Southeast Louisiana. “We are here in the business, we are part of the community. We understand what the people in Southeast Louisiana like to eat and what they enjoy. We provide the best products at the best prices,” Donald Rouse said.
Sophia Ruffin can be reached at sophia@tri-parishtimes.com.
Rouse’s Supermarket
Owner: Tommy and Donald Rouse
Headquarters: 1301 Saint Mary St, Thibodaux
Phone: (985) 447-5998
Staff: 2,000 employees
Services: The locally-owned grocery retailer offers a variety of food items and claims to offer the best produce at the lowest prices.
Business Hours: Monday-Sunday, 7 a.m.-10 p.m.
Staff Photo by Sophia Ruffin * Tri-Parish Times * Rouse’s Supermarket cashier Ashley James assists a customer at the Houma store. Rouse’s is the state’s largest family-owned, independent grocery retailer with 16 stores across the region. A 17th store in Lafayette is in the works, and the family is looking to expand into shopping centers.
