New Rouses grocery on Freret with its own restaurant (and bar)

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Rouses Market opened a new grocery in the middle of the Freret Street restaurant row, and this one adds its own restaurant to the popular Uptown stretch too.

Freret Faire is the name of the in-house restaurant, where the menu by chef Christy Engeran has salads, sandwiches, breakfast dishes and a focus on lighter and vegetarian dishes (there's a meatless gumbo z'herbes, for instance, and a version of grillades and grits made with braised mushroom ragu).

The cafe also has its own bar, so shoppers can duck in for a beer, a wine or a mixed drink. That addition quickly stirred memories of the old Schwegmann's grocery stores, which in their day had in-house bars called Shopper's Bars for this very pursuit.

The new grocery is smaller than conventional supermarkets and has a focus on grab-and-go and prepared dishes. It also showcases many local vendors and small food entrepreneurs from around the region.

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