ROUSES_Summer2025_Magazine PAGES web

Letter from the Editor by Marcy Nathan, Rouses Markets Creative Director

When we opened our first locations in New Orleans two years after Katrina, we launched Where the Chefs Shop . It wasn’t just a campaign — it was the truth. We saw chefs in their white coats shopping in our stores every day — and they still do. Before long, we had Leah Chase, John Besh, Susan Spicer, Tory McPhail — and the great Paul Prudhomme — doing our commercials. Paul had actually made a few appearances in our stores years earlier, so it felt like a full-circle moment. The commercials were unscripted — we let the chefs say whatever they wanted. In Paul’s, he looked straight into the camera and said, “If you live on the Gulf Coast and you’re hungry, there’s no other place to shop than Rouses.” It was gold. This did not sit well with his PR person — Paul sold his spice mix in just about every grocery store in America. I’m pretty sure she still has my picture on a dartboard somewhere. Where the Chefs Shop became Best Chefs and Cooks in 2014 — the “cooks” part inspired, in part, by NFL wide receiver Brandin Cooks. He’s back with the Saints now, as you’ll read in Nick Underhill’s story in this issue.

In this issue, we’re revisiting some of our favorite taglines and campaigns, like Donny Rouse’s “You’re either local or you’re not.” I think they’ve stood the test of time, just like Rouses has for 65 years. Bayou Boys was one of the first campaigns I worked on for Rouses. When a big-box store announced that they were going to start boiling crawfish in Houma — Houma , as you’ll read in this issue, is where we opened our very first store in 1960 — Tim Acosta, Rouses’ Director of Marketing and Advertising (and Cajun to his core, like everyone in the Rouses family), was personally offended. “I bet they don’t even know how much water to put in the pot,” he said, shaking his head. You can’t fake Cajun. We filmed our Bayou Boys TV spots at Attakapas Landing on Lake Verret, with Donald Rouse, Tim and Big Mike talking about boiling and barbecuing like they were sacred rituals. Which, of course, they are. There was a line in the commercial that always gets a laugh: “We know what you like to eat — and how much you eat.” No shame — we’ve all got healthy appetites around here. For other commercials, we’ve gone out in the fields and down on the water, filming the folks who grow and catch the food we sell. Food doesn’t have to travel far to get to Rouses. As Donald Rouse said in one spot, “This okra was picked this morning, and it’s in our stores this afternoon.” When I’m in the stores today, I often see a farmer walk in with that day’s picks, still warm from the field. Fresh, local ingredients are one reason our stores have always attracted foodies.

Chefs, cooks, music, football, food, festivals — we’ve always celebrated local in our commercials and in this magazine, because local isn’t just where we’re from. It’s who we are. You can put olive salad on a ham sandwich, but that doesn’t make it a muffaletta. You’re either local, or you’re not.

where the chefs shop

bayou boys

7