JEANERETTE, La. — This grocery store has been THE place for full-fledged grocery shopping in the town of Jeanerette. Mid 1950s it was Robby's, 2015 it became Mac's. So almost 60 years of it being THE place for people to shop. But an early morning fire around 4 o'clock has changed the game and who knows where the people of Jeanerette will go?
"Look he doesn't know. It's closed," said Jeanerette Mayor Carol Bourgeois to a customer in the parking lot of Mac's Sugar City Market. "The store is closed. It's not open. It had a fire. The store had a fire this morning."
Jeanerette Mayor Carol Bourgeois, Jr. had to be the bearer of bad news to the many Jeanerette residents who count Mac's Sugar City Market as their go-to place for full-service grocery shopping. A fire—two hours before dawn---will be at least for a while game-changer for many in that community.
"Certainly it's devastating," explains Bourgeois, "because I'm thinking about the impact this loss would have on our community. First and foremost, it's the only supermarket we have in town."
Bourgeois learned of the fire around 4:15 a.m.—about the same time as Mac's co-owner John McDaniel. "One of my neighbors on the backside of the store comes banging on my door, ringing the doorbell. Well, obviously I grab a gun and I run to the back door. and he says, 'The store's on fire,' and I run to my backdoor and I can see smoke. And I said, 'Oh my God, o.k.', and i got dressed and I came over."
It's way too early to get an official cause, although some discussions suggested an electrical issue. McDaniel tells us---he let firefighters inside and just the smell was pretty overpowering. "It's almost unbearable, you know, the smoke and the smell. My eyes --the little bit I've gone in there--would burn instantly; even barely in there I've retained a coat of smoke."
There will be a sizable loss of tax revenue… but most importantly--- with gas prices high… and Jeanerette already economically stressed… where will its residents go to buy food?
"For a market of this size, or a supermarket, the nearest ones are of course New Iberia and Baldwin. It's a devastating time for us right now, and we're just looking for the prayers of the community, and folks to come together and give them the support that they need at this moment."
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