“Is the Rouses Supermarket Family Keeping a Secret?”

It’s been said that “everyone has a skeleton in the closet,” and according to some, the Rouse family is no exception.

The Rouses Supermarket chain has greatly expanded in Louisiana over the past 10-years and is one of the largest independent grocers in the U.S. with 54 stores, according to its website, www.rouses.com. The first Rouses grocery store opened in 1975 in Thibodaux, Louisiana, but the family business originated in 1923 when the patriarch, J.P. Rouse, established the City Produce Company.

Today, the face of the family business is Donny Rouse, who was named managing partner in 2011 & later CEO in 2016. Donny Rouse is young, married with children, and is the perfect image to portray wholesome family values. But is there more to the story?

Donny Rouse’s father, Donald Rouse, began working with his father, Anthony Rouse, in the grocery business in 1960 and eventually became a partner in 1975 when he purchased stock shares from his retiring uncle, Circo DiMarco. At the time, Donald Rouse was a married man and raising a family to become the next generation of owners in a legacy.

However, according to longtime current & former Rouses employees, who “The NOLA Tabloid” will not identify, Donald Rouse was snubbed by the family for CEO because he “came out of the closet” late in life and announced to his wife & adult son, Donnie, that he was gay. Apparently, that revelation did not sit well with the other managing members of the family in what could become a public relations nightmare.

Donald Rouse still works in the family business but in a much less conspicuous role. According to the unnamed sources, he lives in a downtown New Orleans condo with his committed male partner.

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