Yours, Brine & Ours

Yours, Brine & Ours

By David W. Brown

You might have noticed the gorgeous

turkey on the cover of this month’s issue. It was prepared by Rouses Markets’ own Lee Veillon, Vice President of Human Resources. He is an avid cook and, in previous issues, you’ve probably seen other dishes he has prepared. This year he wanted to give his turkey a little kick, and he prepared a bourbon-based brine using the Rouses Markets Brine Kit. After the bird bathed for 24 hours, it was ready for the smoker. You can find Lee’s recipe below and try it yourself. (Be sure to send pictures so we can compare!)

If you work at Rouses Markets or are applying to work at Rouses Markets — there are 7,000 team members — you’ve encountered Lee or his team. They handle everything from job fairs to employee benefits.

“We are a family-owned business, and we treat our team members like a family as well,” he told me with his distinct Cajun accent. “There is no question that we have the best employees in the business.” As we move into fall and winter, the string of feast days means that the stores see a rush of shoppers. Some want to buy ingredients to cook at home, and some want Rouses to handle the cooking for them.

That means the Rouses team is busy in the front of the store and in the back.

“Obviously, we encourage everyone to get their orders in early,” Lee says with a laugh. “The team does a fantastic job with preparing that. And we know that, at the last minute, things sometimes come up. What makes our team members special is their ability to adapt. They’ll find a way to get the job done. Shoppers can count on us to have that meal ready for them.”

Rouses does its best to help its entire team celebrate the holidays as well. “We do different events throughout the year for our team members,” says Lee. “Every Thanksgiving, we give out free turkeys so they can enjoy it with their families. We’ve been doing that for at least as long as I’ve been here, which is 17 years.”

And they’ve definitely earned it, because it’s hard work running a grocery store! “It can be pretty demanding. Just being on your feet all day, walking from one side of the store to the other, to the back room — it all adds up,” he added. The hours can be long — they’re there early, before the store opens, and late, after it closes. Shelves are stocked, and floors and counters are cleaned. The Rouses team makes it look easy, even invisible, to guests — but that, Lee says, is what makes them the best in the business.

New employees are often surprised by how many people they’ll interact with on a daily basis at any one of the Rouses locations. Familiar faces of frequent shoppers make them keep smiling, though.

Anyone interested in joining the team can look forward to the family atmosphere of a family company. “We’ve been around for over 60 years now, and we’re very flexible not only on hours and days in our work schedules, but also with the opportunities across the company. No matter what someone is interested in doing, we can usually find somewhere that they can enjoy and make a career out of.”

At the end of the day, says Lee, it’s all about the customer. “We’re proud to be there for the customers, and we’ve been taking care of them for a long time. Customer service is our No. 1 priority. I think that gets lost in today’s world. We like to have smiles on our faces to welcome our store guests so they have a great experience when they first walk in, and so that it’s the thing they remember when they leave.”