Both Rodney and I were born and raised in Illinois. I know, I know – damn Yankees ;). Rodney was raised in the Southern Illinois communities of Belleville and Swansea. I was raised in Leonore, IL which is a teeny, tiny town in Central Illinois. We met when Rodney was managing a construction company in Peru, IL. In September of 2002 we got married. Our first day in Geogia was Halloween 2002. We relocated to Georgia as Rodney had accepted a position with Winter Companies in Atlanta.
In 2004, while expecting our son, Rodney called me from the car (on his way to the airport) to tell me that when he came back from his week with his friends in Florida, he would be seeing more of me. Just six weeks before delivering Nicholas, he quit his job. We had just broken ground on our new home, thus launching our construction business.
Over the years, we worked side by side growing our construction company. During this time, and before, I had been a consultant for different home-based businesses. Sales and people have just always been “my thing”. We frequently discussed my desire for a service/retail business. We spent several years looking around to see what may be “needed” in our little Jasper community. We also focused on the ever-growing amount of traffic that passed through the area.
In 2017, we followed inspiration of our friends, the Bedner’s, in Florida and realized that our community needed a fresh produce business. We chose our name, Rooster’s Market. At this time, we also worked with a local designer and had our logo designed. In May of 2019, our little 450 sq ft building was dropped off. Our carpenters got right to work building out the interior.
On Friday, July 19, 2019, the doors to Rooster’s Market were opened. We never looked back. When we initially opened, we were full of produce. As time went on, we added many new items and began to work with kitchens across Georgia. Our desire for high quality items has led us to work with even more kitchens that are spread out across the United States. Our goal has always been customer satisfaction, therefore, many of the items we have added have been at the request of our wonderful shoppers.
During the weeks and months of being open, we have faced some trials, most notably Covid. Right as Covid hit in March of 2020, we had just decided we were going to build a much larger market to include a restaurant. There have been many horrors for all of us during the days of Covid and since. Our new market is delayed due to supply issues, as well as staffing issues. We have had customers and friends lose their lives due to the virus. But one thing stands out daily to us – Rooster’s Market would not be possible without each of you – our loyal customers. We pray that you know this and always remember the appreciation we have for you!
The Hen