Circle Food Store

 

“Business is good," says Brooke Boudreaux, director of marketing at Circle Food Store, and then adds with a smile, "But it could always be better. I look at that as a testament to what the actual city is like right now. The city is growing strong but there is definitely room for us to grow even more.” Circle Food Store is one of only six black owned grocery stores in the entire country and has served New Orleans since 1938. 

 

Katrina devastated Boudreaux’s family business. The entire first floor was flooded, their entire inventory was ruined, and they lost many customers due to the slow return of the city’s residents.

 

“Originally we thought we would be open in a year or two. We had high hopes that we could do it but because we lost so much and because it is a very old building (this building dates back to the late 1800’s), it took so much more money than a regular renovation,” explains Brooke concerning their recovery.

 

In the end, it took nine long years of hard work for Circle Food Store to reopen. Brooke believes that their recovery reflects the City’s unbreakable character.  “Circle embodies the spirit of New Orleans," she says. "You know people come down on us all the time, complaining that we don’t have good infrastructure, government, you name it, but at the end of the day we are so strong and we really make a way out of no way. That’s the story that is told here with the store, with this city and with every single person who has come back. We all have the same story. We are all here trying to make a way out of no way.”

 

When it comes to getting through a disaster, Brooke says it is important to “rely on each other as a family. Rely on each other as a city. It really helped to bring us back. My parents own this business, but half the employees we have are considered family in my eyes. There is a lot of hugging and kissing everyday. It was the entire community that came together to make this happen.”