ROUSES_Holiday2018Magazine-FINAL.indd

Awards like Best Grocery Store are only possible because of our fantastic team. We have so many incredible people who are part of our company, and the awards are as much for them as for us. We are beyond grateful for their contribution. We also couldn’t do any of this without our exceptional vendor partners, especially those in the Gulf Coast, for paying attention to the things that matter most to our customers. Every year, we get hundreds of requests by customers from all over to build a store in their neighborhood. I love that you die-hard Rouses fans will drive hours to get a Rouses Gentilly cake, but I’d love even more to make sure you have a Rouses closer to home. Another reason we build more stores is so our team members have greater opportunities to grow in their careers. I think that’s one reason we’ve spent so many years on lists of the Best Companies to Work. Our team members are committed, just like we are, to providing the best grocery services in the region. The holidays are the time of year when families come together and cele- brate with food and drink. That you choose Rouses to be part of that celebration is humbling and gratifying. Of all the honors we earn each year, that is the one that matters most. Here are a few of the awards we won this year: • 225 Magazine, Best Supermarket • Dig Baton Rouge’s BRAG Award, Best Local Grocery Store • Baton Rouge Parents Magazine, Best Supermarket • Gambit Weekly’s Best Neighborhood Grocery Store, New Orleans, North Shore and Jefferson Parish • New Orleans Magazine’s Tops of the Town Thank you for voting us best grocery store! • Gonzalez Weekly Citizen’s Best of Ascension • The Sun Herald’s People’s Choice Award • The Courier and Daily Comet’s Bayou’s Best of the Best, Grocery Store, King Cake and Catering • Times of Acadiana’s Best of 2018 • The Daily Star’s Best of Tangipahoa

leading publication for the food and grocery industry just named Rouses the Southeast Retailer of the Year. We’re by DONNY ROUSE CEO, 3RD GENERATION FROM THE FAMILY A deeply honored to be ranked among the best in the country, and proud to represent the Gulf Coast. But more important to us is that year after year, you consistently vote us best grocery store in your community. For that, we thank you and promise to continue earning your approval and your patronage. My grandfather would have loved all of this. Pa founded Rouses in 1960 with a single store in Houma, Louisiana. He, my dad, and my uncles would go on to build our company into the largest independent grocery in Louisiana, and then one of the largest in the United States. I’m the third generation to lead the family business and I couldn’t imagine doing anything else. When we were kids, my cousins and I would tag along with our dads to the stores on weekends and after school, and we are still in our stores every day. The best part of the job is talking to our customers. We listen to you — lately you want more prepared foods, and more of our great store brands — and we focus on that and work hard to bring you the things you need and want. We also spend a lot of time talking to our team members. It’s not just what is in our stores that makes us stand out from our competition — it’s who.