Take a look around the new Rouses Market in Biloxi that opens Wednesday with free samples
Biloxi shoppers have waited a year for opening day and on Wednesday, Oct. 16, they’ll descend on the new Rouses Market at the corner of Pass and Popp’s Ferry roads.
The doors will open after the ribbon cutting at 8 a.m. Vendors will be set up to provide product samples and opening day specials.
Final touches were being completed Tuesday in preparation for the expected crowd.
The first ones in the door likely will marvel at the size of the Biloxi store, how clean and organized it is and how there are products here they don’t see anywhere else. The store is a sprawling 60,000 square feet, compared to the 44,000 square foot Rouses Market that opened five years ago in Gulfport.
“It has all the latest enhancements that Rouses provides,” said Jonathan Grimer, manager of the new store.
Browse the store
Fresh flowers and pumpkins greet customers inside the from door. Around the perimeter of the store are all the fresh and prepared foods, a cafe with its own door to the outside, and a dedicated cash register so people can drop in for breakfast or lunch without having to go through the store.
They can choose what looks good from the Mongolian grill, fresh sushi bar, hot bar, deli and desserts.
This store has a chicken section similar to a take-out restaurant, where the chicken is made fresh every day. There is also fried catfish, and wings are available by the pound.
An onsite smokehouse cures meat and its own sausage, and a case is full of gourmet cheeses for charcuterie boards and fondues. Steaks, roasts and chops are cut in house by Rouses butchers, and a custom dry-aged beef locker ages USDA Choice Angus beef for at least 25 days.
Customers on Wednesday will get samples of the full Boar’s Head selection of meats, cheese, dip and other products, said Vince Campbell, whose Campbell Provisions is the local supplier of Boar’s Head.
The seafood department has in-house seafood boiling and fresh seafood delivered from the Gulf Coast and beyond.
The staff also turns out a big selection of heat-and-eat prepared foods to take to the office for lunch or home for dinner, in small portions and family size.
For those who find it more to convenient to shop online, curbside pickup starts about a week and a half after the store opens.
Shopping’s a treat
The first place to try Rouses Market fresh baked banana loaf will be Wednesday at the new Biloxi store.
“This is the first store piloting it,” Grimer said, and then it will be offered at other Rouses stores.
A big selection of read and rolls are on display, and Grimer said, “All of that is baked fresh daily.”
Aisle one is where to find Halloween candy and Christmas candy and other holiday specialties. For those planning to watch Christmas movies that start on TV this week, eggnog is already in stock in the dairy cases.
Aisles of choices
The shelves in the center of the store are 96 feet long and fully stocked.
“These are the longest grocery aisles that we have,” Grimer said.
Among the national brands are a big selection of local products “If it’s local, it’s in here,” he said.
It’s also got the largest beer selection in the area, the company said.
The dairy cases are stocked from behind, so there aren’t people stocking the case while people shop and it’s easy to keep the cases full.
“We’re committed to being the best place to shop, not just in Biloxi but throughout the Gulf Coast,” says Donny Rouse, the CEO of Rouses Market. With the opening of the Biloxi store, and one in Picayune in September, Rouses now has five markets in South Mississippi. The others are in Ocean Springs, Gulfport and Diamondhead.
This new store will create 200 full- and part-time jobs.
There are 65 other Rouses Store across the Gulf South.
“We appreciate our Mississippi customers asking us to open more stores in their state, and we’re committed to growing our presence here,” Rouse said. “This Biloxi location is a direct result of that support, and we’re excited to continue serving our Mississippi communities.”
