New Rouses Market in Houma, Louisiana Has Company’s First-Ever Drive-Thru Fried Chicken

Rouses Market in Houma just opened a brand new store last week. And, with it came a first-ever for the regional grocery store chain -- a fried chicken drive-thru.

Houma da Chicken is now open at the new store located at 2233 Martin Luther King Blvd in Houma.

First, the new 60,000-square-foot store replaces the company's "superstore," which was built back in 1989 and located just a stone's throw away in the same parking lot.

This new location also marks a significant milestone in the history of the company. It was the site of the family's first grocery called Ciro's, which was opened in 1960 by Anthony J. Rouse, Sr. and Ciro di Marco.

“Ciro’s laid the foundation for our company today,” CEO Donny Rouse said. “It was a 7,000-square-foot store, with my grandfather, great uncle, and only two other employees running the show. My father, Donald Rouse, joined the company when he was old enough, bagging groceries and rounding up carts out front.”

Now, about that drive-thru fried chicken.

Rouse said the new drive-thru concept was born out of the store's success during crawfish season when they consistently saw long lines of folks waiting.

The store simply wanted an easier way for its customers to pick up their boiled crawfish. So, adding other items like fried chicken and shrimp will help sustain the drive-thru as a year-round operation.

Will we see more drive-thrus coming to other Rouses locations?

According to Donnie Rouse, the simple answer is "likely." He said his company is looking into a few of their New Orleans stores for a potential remodel.

"We are evaluating different sites right now," Rouse said.

Rouses Markets currently owns and operates 63 stores in the Gulf Coast region (Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama).