Rouses is opening a $10M grocery store in Picayune and has plans to expand in South MS
Rouses Markets had more requests from shoppers in Picayune to bring a store to their town than almost anywhere in its three-state footprint, said Charles Merrell, Rouses’ vice president of corporate development.
Picayune is getting its Rouses, he said, and the company that currently has stores in Gulfport, Diamondhead and Ocean Springs plans to open more in South Mississippi.
“We continue to look and explore,” he said.
Adding stores to the 64 the Louisiana-based Rouses operates in Mississippi, Alabama and Louisiana is particularly challenging right now, he said, given supply chain issues and the continued high prices for construction materials.
Supplies that previously were delivered to the work site in 8 to 10 weeks now take close to a year for delivery — “If it shows up,” he said.
Steel orders and electrical components are 30 weeks out, he said. HVAC systems to heat and cool take 42 weeks. Refrigeration units are backed up to 12 months.
Work will begin in Picayune in the spring and Merrell anticipates the store will open in the first quarter of 2024.
Rouses Markets purchased the River Ridge Shopping Center on Mississippi 43 in Picayune, which housed a Winn-Dixie store before it closed several years ago, and will invest $10 million in the project.
“It will be a complete transformation,” he said, with a new facade and basically just three walls remaining and everything else new, just as Rouses did with the purchase, renovation and opening of the Gulfport Rouses Market.
Build it and they will come
The Gulfport store moved from a shopping center on the southwest side of Cowan and Pass roads, catty-corner to another former Winn-Dixie location on the northeast side of the busy intersection.
When the store opened in June 2019, the response was so big that officers had to direct traffic into the store for weeks.
The Gulfport and Picayune stores are similar in size at around 40,000 square feet and will have a similar look and features.
The Rouses in Gulfport has become a popular place for breakfast and lunch, with a salad bar and a big selection of sandwiches, sushi, hot and cold entrees, soups and desserts to eat at the store or grab and go. It also has a large selection of produce, seafood, meats and seasonal items.
The Picayune store is in a prime location — “Right down the road from our wholesaler,” Merrell said.
Winn-Dixie closed two stores in Picayune in 2017, he said, leaving a void for the community and an opportunity for Rouses.
“We saw it was a good fit for Rouses and for the community,” Merrell said.
Picayune’s population swelled after Hurricane Katrina and the people who moved there from New Orleans share the taste and food preference similar to the rest of the Rouses market area, he said.
Picayune excited for Rouses
Picayune is buzzing with excitement since Rouses announced the new store and 200 new jobs, said Mayor Jim Luke.
“I think it’s the most talked about thing in the last couple of years,” he said. “It’s been a big hit here.”
He spent four or five months meeting with representatives of Rouses to seal the deal, at times in locations outside of town so the residents wouldn’t know of the discussions until the sale of the shopping center went through.
Luke said he is especially excited about the location and Rouses’ beautification plans for the new store.
“They indicated to me this will be one of the prettiest corners in Picayune when they’re done,” he said.
The store will be right across the street from a retirement area in the city, he said, so that it will be easy access for seniors.
“They could walk to it. It’s that close.”
The city is looking to build a police station next to Rouses, Luke said, and already purchased the land.
