July_Aug_2015_FINAL_62215_bleedless REV

WHERE THE CHEFS SHOP • ROUSES HISTORY

LAFAYETTE Donny Rouse

Lafayette was a very personal project for me. When I was at UL, I always brought groceries from Thibodaux back with me to Lafayette. The city deserved the kind of grocery store I knew we could build. In 2011, we opened our first store, right across the street from Cajun Field. Our second Lafayette location opened last year on Johnson Street. So much of our culinary heritage is in Acadiana. Steen’s Syrup is made in Abbeville; rice is grown all around Crowley; and Lou Ana Cooking Oil, Tony Chachere’s Creole Seasoning and Savoie’s Sausage are made in Opelousas. I love having stores where there’s so much food history. “The warehouse district is home to some of the best artists’ studios and galleries, interesting places to shop and great places to eat. With Rouses in the neighborhood, whether it’s Louisiana shrimp or seasonal produce, you know it’s going to be top quality and super fresh. You can’t beat the taste of local.” —Chef Emeril Lagasse

hoarse from yelling, “ Throw me something Mister .” Dozens of local and national chefs have done appearances and commercials for us since then, including John Besh, John Folse, Leah Chase, Susan Spicer, Brian Landry, Sue Zemanick and David Slater of Emeril’s. But we’re just as likely to feature po-boy makers and oyster shuckers as we are white-tablecloth chefs. Donald Rouse One of our most enduring commercials featured the St. Augustine Marching 100.We asked some of our more recognizable customers to be in the commercial spot — every character imaginable shops at Rouses during Mardi Gras; trust me, we’ve seen it all. We also featured team members who were riding that year.We had Indians, Baby Dolls, Zulu’s, but the St. Augustine Marching 100 parading up and down the aisles of our Tchoupitoulas store was the most memorable part of the commercial spot.

[LEFT] Rouses #46, 701 Baronne Street, New Orleans [TOP] Chef Chris Wilson, Chef Emeril Lagasse and Donny Rouse [BOTTOM] St. Augustine Marching 100 filming Rouses Mardi Gras commercial spot. photos by Frank Aymami

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