Brandon 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.
That was 31 years ago – and today he owns five different stores, including his most recent acquisition of Majoria’s Supermarket in Boutte.
“This is all I’ve ever done,” said Rivers, 47. “It’s something I enjoy doing. I get up every morning and go to work knowing I love what I do. It’s not ‘I’ve gotta work,’ I just absolutely love what I do every day.”
Rivers worked for Winn-Dixie for 14 years, then the independent grocery Shopper Value Foods for nine years. A little more than six years ago, Rivers acquired his first grocery store. Norco Fresh Market and River Road Market in Destrehan marked his first ventures into St. Charles Parish. Schexnayder’s Supermarket in Vacherie and Rivers Market in Metairie are also among his markets. Ultimately, he would like to get to 10 in total.
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.
Rivers said he and the Majoria’s had discussions for about a year before the sale became official.
“It finally kind of worked out to be the right thing,” Rivers said. “And look, (Majoria’s) is a place that’s been 61 years in the works. I’m not crazy enough to think as a person who’s been in the business for six or seven years that I can go in and change the world. I just have to kind of follow what they’ve done and incorporate some new additions and innovations … and just do the right thing for the customers.”
Among those tweaks has been a shift in store hours – Majoria’s is now open from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. each day, extended hours from before, and is now open on Sunday.
“I believe it starts with great customer service. And the prices – we’re not going to be the cheapest on everything but I think we’re going to highlight some things that draw customers to us, the freshness … I think you can go buy a can of green beans anywhere and there’s no way as an independent grocer that I can say I’m gonna be cheaper than Wal-Mart. But I think you have to differentiate yourself as an independent business by letting the people know they’re the reason that you’re here,” said Rivers.
“We’re going to be supporting the community, being very involved and letting the people know we’re there for them.”
Rivers said he knows the legacy that the Majoria family name and store carries in the community and understands what it will take to live up to that.
“They’ve put their heart and soul into this for 61 years, their family name and legacy on that building, so it’s a challenge and one I look forward to,” Rivers said. “Right now we’re focused on continuing what they did so well for a long time.”
But there are additions planned down the line, including a hot food line/hot deli for fresh homemade meals similar to what Rivers features at River Road Market and Deli – one of the store’s very popular offerings.
“I think the deli will be a big thing for us,” Rivers said. “One thing that really differentiates us from our competition, we have the most experienced, best trained meat department people you can get. We’ve got hundreds of years experience in the meat department – we make ground meat fresh, we cut meat fresh daily and our managers have years of experience in the trade. It makes a difference.”
All of it will be part of what Rivers hopes will be his own lasting legacy in the business: starting January 1, all five of his stores will be named under the united banner of Rivers Market,
“At the end of the day, I’m putting my last name on the front of these buildings – every day, I’m in each of these stores in St. Charles Parish,” said Rivers. “I want the customers to know I’m here, you can talk to me – I’m approachable. We want to build our brand by offering competitive prices and doing the right thing by our customers.”
