JEANERETTE, LA – The Chitimacha Tribe of Louisiana will host the grand opening of Raintree Market’s second location in Jeanerette, LA, on Wednesday, November 19, 2025. A ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the event will be held at 10:00am.
The tribe purchased Mac’s Grocery Store shortly after it was destroyed by fire in June of 2022. Originally planned to be renovated and reopened as soon as possible, due to the extensive damage from the fire, the original store could not be saved. At that point, the tribe decided to make a significant investment and build a completely new store from the ground up. The new location will be similar to the existing one the tribe owns in Baldwin, LA.
“From the beginning, the tribe’s goal was to help the people of Jeanerette, who had lost their only grocery store,” said Melissa Darden, Chairman of the Chitimacha Tribe of Louisiana.
“We were deeply saddened for the Jeanerette community after learning that Mac’s Grocery Store had been destroyed by fire,” said Countice Leblanc, GM of Raintree Market. “Mac’s was the only grocery store in Jeanerette. After it was destroyed, the community had nowhere to buy their much-needed provisions and daily needs. I knew we needed to do something for the community there. They needed a grocery store. I could not be more proud of the state of the art grocery store and deli that we have built here.”
“We could not leave our neighbors in a bind,” said Chairman Darden, who led the expansion. “Many people who do not have cars used to walk to Mac’s. It was the anchor of the community due to its location and what it provided. We have a very successful model with our very own Raintree Market. It was a no brainer – we could fill a need for our neighbors and expand an already successful business model.”
