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Rouses Means Local farmers

Remembering Mr. Anthony by Sarah Baird Larry Daigle’s five decades of experience as a produce buyer make him not only a bona fide expert in his field, but one of the most knowledgeable people on the Gulf Coast about the ins and outs of local produce.

In 1960, after finishing high school, Daigle went to work full time at Caro’s Produce in Houma, Louisiana — the same year that Anthony J. Rouse, Sr., and his cousin, Ciro DiMarco, opened Ciro’s. “Mr. Anthony” quickly became one of Daigle’s biggest customers. “I approached Mr. Rouse at the time and asked him if I would be able to sell him any product. He said, ‘Yes, you can, but I want you to always remember: The first thing I want is quality and the last thing I want is quality. In between, I want price. I want the best price you can get the customers, but I want the quality, because

officially joined the Rouses team as local produce buyer. “Mr. Anthony was never a man to show what he had. He’d wear his coveralls and work just like everybody else,” Daigle recalls. “There was a time, a guy working for Mr. Rouse, he was struggling because his daddy was sick. And every Friday afternoon, Mrs. Rouse would get a bucket and she’d fill it with groceries and send it to that boy’s house — a big bag. And when that boy grew up, he would never buy anything, anywhere but Rouses. He was a true Rouses supporter because Mr. Rouse took care of him. But Mr. Rouse took care of everybody. If he promised you something, he did it.”

they remember the quality before they remember the price.’ We hit it off real good.” Over the course of 57 years as a produce buyer working closely with Mr. Anthony and the Rouse family, Daigle saw just how committed the company was to trusting and supporting their suppliers: the local farmers. “People would bring stuff to Mr. Rouse. A guy would have five dozen mustard [greens]. Mr. Rouse would say, ‘Bring them in.’ I’d say, ‘What are we going to do with it?’ He’d say, ‘It’s good for the business. When they come in and bring the mustard [greens], they buy other stuff at the store.’ He took care of the farmers.” And along the way, there were plenty of opportunities to get a little creative in order to make sure farmers were supported and customers got exactly what they needed. “One year, I remember I promised a farmer I would buy all his cabbages. He had about 1,200 heads [of cabbage], and the cabbages came out to be 12 pounds apiece — which is big! I told Mr. Rouse that I had an idea for selling it. So, we took a knife and we cut the cabbage in half, wrapped them, and made them into six-pound halves! At 10 cents a pound, the customer got 60-cent cabbage. That was a real deal. We sold that cabbage lickety-split!” After Ciro’s closed upon Ciro DiMarco’s retirement in 1976, Daigle continued to work with the (then newly opened) Rouses Market in Thibodaux, and with every Rouses Market opened thereafter. When Caro’s sold their produce company in 1999, Daigle

This tradition of respect and reverence for others was passed down through the generations to Donald Rouse, Mr. Anthony’s son. “Donald was a good guy to work with. He grew up working — Don and [his brother] Tommy — when they were done with school for the day. They carried on the tradition. Donald was more of the business type — he would always take care of the customers.” If caring for employees, customers and everyone in between was the hallmark of Mr. Anthony’s life, for 57 years produce has been the heartbeat of Daigle’s — and he has the knowledge to prove it. “There are four ideals of produce. If it’s too ripe, nobody wants it. If it’s too green, they don’t want it, either. If the price is too high, nobody wants to buy it. If it’s too cheap, well, they figure everybody’s got it. If you’re too late with the order, that’s no good, but they get nervous if you come early. It’s a complicated situation. Now if you beat all that, you’re in good shape! I was going to write a book about produce and call it, ‘Sell It or Smell It!’” In fact, just before our conversation, he was still working in the garden at 76 years old — and was eager to head right back out there after we finished our chat. Produce, of course, doesn’t run on any schedule but nature’s own. “Earlier this morning, I was pulling up some green onions for our church. I do that every year. So, today’s the day, and I want to do it before the rain — it was already muddy. If I wait another day, they’re going to seed. So, I got to hurry up and get out there to pull them out!”

I approached Mr. Rouse at the time and asked him if I would be able to sell him any product. He said, ‘Yes, you can, but I want you to always remember: The first thing I want is quality and the last thing I want is quality. In between, I want price. I want the best price you can get the customers, but I want the quality, because they remember the quality before they remember the price.’ We hit it off real good. — Larry Daigle, Produce Buyer

Top: Larry Daigle; Bottom: Produce department at Rouses #4 - Village East Store in Houma, circa 1983

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