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Rouses Means Local

Community Coffee by sarah baird

There’s something about a family-owned business that just feels comforting. In our increasingly disconnected, harried world, interacting with people who have committed themselves to making a single company the best it can possibly be — in some cases, for gener- ations — feels downright novel. These companies possess the storied history and interpersonal respect that comes from working alongside parents, siblings and cousins over many years to perfect a single recipe, and to build trust with customers to always do the right thing. There’s a sense of tradition and a feeling of responsibility for the family legacy that imbue a successful family business model. Local, family-owned businesses understand the deep power of community, and what it means to be part of something bigger than yourself. This is why, for over 100 years, Community Coffee has put their community of neighbors and coffee drinkers first every step along the way. Whether brewing up a cup of the chicory blend or the classic dark roast, folks have been able to sip with confidence, knowing that the family behind their morning caffeine boost has been steeped in the coffee-making tradition for more than a century. And for Matt Saurage, fourth-generation owner of Community Coffee, working as part of the company is so much more than a Louisiana-proud, family tradition (though it is that too). It’s a way to recommit, each and every day, to the friends and consumers who make up the Community Coffee, well, community. Below are key tenets that any good community member should embrace — whether you’re getting more involved in your hometown, book club or bowling league — as demonstrated by the lessons Saurage has learned growing up immersed in the family-owned business that he’s now leading into the future.

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