After purchasing Majoria’s Supermarket last year, Brandon Rivers recently put an official stamp on it, so to speak.
The longtime Boutte grocery store and market has been officially renamed to Rivers Market. Rivers, who owns several stores and markets in the area, is naming them all under the united Rivers Market banner.
“You know, as we continue to grow, we want people to know when they enter any of our stores, they’re getting the same values and same deals at each and every one of them,” said Rivers. “And at the same time, it’s my name out there in front of the building. I’m proud of the products we offer and the services we provide.”
Rivers got his start in the grocery store business at 16 years old, bagging groceries and gathering baskets in the parking lot of Winn-Dixie in Ponchatoula. He worked his way onto the store’s stock crew before taking on management training and leaping into the business full-time. Rivers worked for Winn-Dixie for 14 years, then the independent grocery Shopper Value Foods for nine years.
Nearly seven years ago, Rivers acquired his first grocery store, something he said was the realization of a dream. Years later, he now owns multiple stores – he aims to ultimately push the number to 10.
“That was kind of my dream, to own my own grocery store one day, and it’s a dream I’ve been blessed enough to fulfill,” Rivers said. “This is all I’ve ever done. It’s what I always wanted to do, and I love doing it.”
After learning the Majoria family might be interested in selling their business, the Hammond native was quite interested – his experience with River Road Market and Norco Fresh Market in St. Charles Parish was extremely positive and he loved the Luling/Boutte area already from his time working with the Luling Winn-Dixie, which was among stores that he supervised.
Customers will see his name on the sign now, but when one enters the store they are also quite likely to find Rivers himself, who is very hands on and active with his stores.
“I go to Boutte, Norco and Destrehan pretty much every day,” Rivers said. “I love the River Parish area and I love dealing with customers. They’re the type of people I grew up with. And it’s those positive interactions with them, that positive customer service, that’s allowed us to grow here and expand here. And we’re looking forward to growing and expanding here in the River Parishes even more in the future.”
Rivers said his hope is that this will be a family business that will sustain for years to come. His children stock groceries and work the registers on weekends, and down the line he said he would love to pass the business down to them.
“Hopefully this is something that will keep going even after I’m finished,” Rivers said.
He said the experience over the first several months in Boutte has been very positive and the store continues to evolve. Rivers noted the store features a redone, extensive liquor set and recently added gourmet popcorn to its items available. He added there are more changes and additions to come.
There is a special re-grand opening week planned to begin May 15 to celebrate the store’s new name.
“We’re expecting a bunch of vendors here for samples and demos, and a lot of great values for our customers,” said Rivers.
