Back in 2009, Debbi Bourgerie, a stay-at-home Mom of three, had a vision of starting her own business. After spending all her time and love being a mom for 18 years, she knew her three girls were getting older, and it would be a good time for a new venture. Debbi, with the help of her husband Michael, started looking at potential locations for a local breakfast restaurant she had dreamed up, that she wanted to name Rosie’s Place, in honor of her grandmother.
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). Rosie’s quickly became a hotspot in Noblesville for the locals, who were excited for a new place to gather.
After 10 years, Rosie’s has grown, adding two more locations, Zionsville in 2014, and Carmel in 2018, and employs more than 90 people. Now serving breakfast and lunch all day, with a more extensive seasonal menu, a full coffee bar and specialty brunch cocktails.
What Rosie’s might be best known for is the Ooey Gooey Butter Cookiesä, created by Debbi shortly after opening, with the mission to create something as tasty as the beloved gooey butter cake, but easier to grab-and-go. The cookie quickly turned into a restaurant staple and the addictive treat now sells in several local markets, butcher shops and grocers across the mid- west as well as shipping directly on rosiesplace.net.
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.”
We care so much for all of our employees and everything that they do for us to help continue to make this dream a reality everyday. With a spotlight on the many hardworking women who are a major part of our team, running each store in every position, from manager to bakers and servers.
After overcoming a very challenging year in the restaurant industry, Debbi, Michael and the Rosie’s team are grateful to have the opportunity to continue to serve its customers and communities, and are thankful for their continued support. From day one at Rosie’s and with much enthusiasm about the next stages of this family business, we continue to have so much pride in what we do at Rosie’s every day.
