Back in 2009, Debbi Bourgerie, a stay-at-home Mom of three, had a vision. After throwing all of her love into being a mom for the last 18 years, she knew her three girls were getting older, and it was a good time for a new venture. Debbi, with the help of her husband Michael, started looking at potential locations for a breakfast restaurant she wanted to name Rosie’s Place.
Who is Rosie? Rosie was the grandmother of Debbi. She wanted to name the restaurant in her honor.
Debbi comes from a family of restaurateurs. Her father has owned and operated restaurants in St. Louis for more than 45 years. Debbi grew up knowing two things: how to cook delicious homemade food and how to treat people well.
Rosie’s opened its doors on Oct. 1, 2010, with a 10-item breakfast menu, coffee from her father’s coffee vendor in St. Louis and a small selection of fresh-made baked goods, including gooey butter cake (not yet a cookie).
After 10 years, two more locations in Zionsville (2014) and Carmel (2018), Rosie’s now employs more than 90 people. Best known for their Ooey Gooey Butter Cookies, created by Debbi shortly after opening, Rosie’s sells the addictive sweet treat in several local grocers and butchers and ships across the US. And if you haven’t heard about the gooey butter cookies, well they are sort of a thing.
Addictive cookies aside, the real key to Rosie’s success may be Debbi and Michael’s commitment to the communities they serve.
“It has been an extremely rewarding 10 years in so many ways,” Rosie’s Owner Debbi Bourgerie said. “We love that Rosie’s has become a family, ingrained in the community. Year 10 has been by far the most challenging. There was a point we didn’t think we’d make it to this milestone. Luckily the community rallied behind us, and we reopened our doors and are now more devoted to serving our communities than ever.”
Debbi and Michael are available for an interview. Amongst the toughest year in Rosie’s history, this is a positive story about how the community helped Rosie’s reach a huge milestone.
