Conrad Rice Mill Inc & Konriko Company Store

08/31/2026

I hope you had a great weekend. My Wife was with her two sisters part of the weekend, so I had big plans for the night she was out of town. I have to admit my plans came to fruition just as I planned.
My Black Lab, Daisy and I had a big old time and she was in her kennel and I was sound a sleep by 8:30 p.m.....we are definitely party animals...not !
We are working on a new KONRIKO brand product to add to our product list.
To make a new item takes a bit of time and a lot of leg work.
First we have to come up with an idea for a product that is unique, has fairly broad based appeal and one that we can make without having to reinvent the wheel.
Saturday and Sunday we worked on the basic formula for the new item and after 6 attempts we think we have a developed a working product that we can test with our employees.
Once we get the folks who work here involved and get their thoughts on the new item, we will move on to packaging and searching out one or two ingredients that we do not currently stock.
I would love to have this item ready for introduction in January, 2027, but that maybe a little optimistic. We will see.
Will clue you in on the new item after we test it on our employees and a few hundred of our Visitors to the Mill and our Store. Stay tuned.
Also watched a TV show on a 5 star hotel in London and it's operation. They have over 500 employees and frankly, just watching the show was exhausting. How they coordinate everything they do is amazing. I was also blown away by the room rates they charge. A one bedroom suite rented for $1000.00 a night. I don't know anyone who has that kind of money to spend on a hotel room. The Holiday Inn never looked so good !!
What was so amazing to me was how many revenue sources they had, from multiple restaurants, bars, wedding venues and on and on. Very impressive. Makes our little Rice and Spice operation seem very small, which we are, but also made me love it that much more, as it is so very straight forward compared to a mega 5 star hotel operation.
I just put the pork roast in the oven for the Cuban and BBQ Pulled Pork sandwiches we will make and sell this week. Looks like Wednesday, around noon , will be the making and selling time this week. We, of course, have a good selection of fresh Frozen sandwiches in our KONRIKO Co Store freezer, too.
Will be making another order for our BOGO promotion with Publix Supermarkets on Tuesday and a nice order for our Amazon distributor. We have our week's work cut out for us and we like that. Also, just got one of our first repeat orders on the new burlap 7oz Wild Pecan packaging from our wholesaler in Baton Rouge who supplies many of the best independent stores in Louisiana. That order validated our new package and that makes us very happy.
Please come visit us, let us show you our Operation. We are open for tours from Monday thru Saturday, 9am to 5pm, year round. We would love to meet you and talk about rice and spices, two of our favorite subjects.
Hope to see you soon !!

08/28/2026

Yesterday I was lamenting our biggest Distributor not picking up a large order for an event we have scheduled with a major supermarket chain in Florida.
Well, the truck showed up yesterday, a day late. I asked the driver why he was so late and he informed me the distribution center he works out of delayed him 10 hours from his normal departure time. Why, I asked, the long delay? He had no idea, he just knew he got paid even if he was sitting in his truck waiting for his load to be loaded or not. Ok, I get that.
But what I don't get is the inefficiency of the bigger a company seems to get the more glitches and delays, i.e. inefficient, they seem to get.
Does bigger mean more mistakes? That doesn't seem right to me.
I know the Gov't works on that theory, bigger is not better, IMHO.
The distributor is a large operation covering the who USA, so there are lots of people and systems involved, so more chance to mess up is out there.
We have another distributor who is local, only covers the southern half of Louisiana. They are on top of their game. Never miss an appointment time, pay like clock work, just run a good tight operation.
We need both types of distributors, the big and small but, no doubt, the smaller ones are easier to work with and to solve problems with, if they arise.
I'm trying to get my head around this big vs small thing. I've watched the local banks disappear through mergers and acquisitions. I've watched a lot of independent retailers get pushed out by large out of state retailers. There is a mind set in this Country that we are the biggest and best in the World, and I don't disagree with that thought.
But just maybe, what makes us so great, even though we are big, is when it is all said and done, we are still run on a small, local level by our fellow citizens who still answer directly to us, on an individual basis.
It is complicated and frankly, it gives my group of old guys something to talk about when we get together for coffee at the local meeting place. If only the world would listen to all of us old grey headed fellows, as we have answers for all the problems of the world.
One problem I know I can handle is getting our KONRIKO brand products out to you and your favorite grocery store. Thanks to you we are still here after 114 years. Yes, I am still trying to figure it all out but I don't really think I will get there cause as soon as one problem is solved another arises. I think it is called life and I still love the whole confusing process.
This past Wednesday we built our Cuban and BBQ Pulled Pork sandwich inventory in the KONRIKO Co Store Freezer back up.
Will make more sandwiches this coming Wednesday as now that school is in session more folks are keeping a few of our sandwiches in the freezer ready to feed those hungry young ones.
Stop in anytime Monday -Saturday from 9am to 5pm and pickup a sandwich or two.
If you want to take a tour we still do that too, out of our KONRIKO Co Store at 309 Ann ST here in New Iberia, LA.
Come pay us a visit and between us we can solve all the world's problems or at least we can enjoy a great cup of coffee and swap a few tales.
Hope to see you soon.

08/27/2026

We have been fortunate to sell one of the premiere grocery chains in America, that being the Publix supermarkets, headquartered in Lakeland, FL.
We recently committed to a BOGO promotion with Publix on our KONRIKO brand Greek Seasoning, one of our best selling seasonings, that is MSG free, gluten free, non gmo, etc. Excellent product.
Publix has over 1500 stores so this is a big deal for us. We received their initial order and quickly packed it and had it ready for pickup yesterday, the 26th of August, on our Distributor's truck. The truck didn't show up. Now what?
I contacted the dispatcher for the Distributor to see what the problem is and when they will reschedule pickup....still waiting to hear from them. Frustration abounds on my end.
These are the things that make running a small business tough, the unexpected, out of the blue problems that crop up and you have to figure it out on the fly. We also have a lot of money tied up in the order and until it gets picked up the clock will not start on our getting paid. Cash flow problems here we come.
OK, I have vented and am ready to face the problems of the day, whatever they maybe.
Yesterday we made and sold our Cuban and BBQ Pulled Pork sandwiches out of our KONRIKO Co Store at 309 Ann St here in New Iberia. We have restocked our KONRIKO freezer and have a good inventory for you to come pickup a few sandwiches. We are open from 9am to 5pm.
Our production crew overhauled the seasoning can seamers on Tuesday and I have never seen the seamers make such a good smooth seal before, excellent job.
We have also gotten really good at filling and sewing the 7oz Wild Pecan rice bags, which is a new thing for us. We are very proud of our new burlap package and our crew does an excellent job of sewing the bags closed, not an easy task.
Don't forget our tours of the old rice mill are ongoing from Monday-Saturday, 9am to 5pm. We would love to show you our Operation and share with you some of our recipes for cooking our Wild Pecan rice, or ways to use our excellent Bay Island Secret Sauce, one of best selling 'secret" products.
Hope to see you soon....the store is nice and cool and the coffee is fresh and hot, we just need you to share it all with.

08/26/2026

It is no news flash that it is hot and humid right now, but it usually is in August/September.
I also know the kids are back in school now, which is way earlier than we use to start school.
If I combine the two, hot, humid weather with hot, sweaty kids in school, I come up with Air Conditioned schools, something I never had as a student or a teacher back in the 1970's.
From what I am seeing just about all, if not all, the classrooms today are air conditioned.
I also don't remember the class rooms of my youth being unbearably hot. Maybe I have selective memory, but the old schools I attended had high ceilings, big windows and transom windows that help circulate the air.
When I started teaching school I was teaching in the same type of classrooms that I was taught in. Warm but bearable.
The first air conditioned class rooms I ever was in was at USL in the Business School class rooms, in the late "60"s.
Was it not so hot because that was all we knew, i. e., you don't miss what you never had? I think that is a big part of the equation.
Today we go from our Air Conditioned house, to the A/C in the car, to our A/C work area, if we work inside.
I see the folks who work outside all the time and they don't seem to be fainting at the hot weather. I guess they have gotten use to it. But I also see the local farmers driving in their air conditioned tractors, so maybe those that only work in the heat are just tougher, cause they need to be.
Here at our old rice mill there was never an air conditioning unit installed anywhere until about 1980. Now all our major production areas have air conditioning and the areas that do not, like in the Mill, are only operated early in the morning or on cooler days, if possible.
Frankly, I love our air conditioned life style. As a kid we only had an attic fan that sucked in copious amounts of air. It made the curtains flutter all night, kept us sleeping under a sheet cause it was cool and also kept the whole house dusty from the air it blew into the old home place.
I'll take the A/C unit over the attic fan any day!!
Today, when you come to get your Cuban or BBQ Pulled Pork sandwich at the KONRIKO Co Store at 309 Ann st, around noon, you will see us smiling, cause the A/C unit is working great and we are not out in the sun broiling.
By the way, give us a call at 337.364.7242 if you want to reserve a sandwich today.
Tours are on going here at our historic old rice mill, from 9am to 5pm Monday-Saturday.
Also, please keep an eye out for our KONRIKO brand products which I hope you will support, if possible...we would certainly appreciate it ....big time.
Also a word to Dolly Parton's family in their time of loss. She was a national treasure, IMHO, and will be missed.

Hope to see you soon !!

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08/25/2026

I was looking over our in-house orders this morning and seeing what we needed to order to keep the products flowing out of here.
One of the glaring things staring at me was how different our order patterns are now vs just a few years ago.
Here in Louisiana we have lost a significant number of customers. While new ones have come along we have not made up the difference in what we have lost.
I'm talking about losing the New Orleans divisions of the A&P grocery chain, the Winn Dixie New Orleans divisions, Schwagman's ( spelling?) which was 1/3 of the N.O. market and one of our main distributors in New Orleans who served the above chains.
We have seen this pattern repeated all over the USA.
Those chains that have survived have gotten pretty tough to work with, they are demanding more from us as they acquire greater market share. I don't blame them for being tougher, I would, most likely, do the same.
In order to stay in business we have had to become more nimble, quicker to react. We have had to trim our work force and make sure we get the most production possible for each dollar we spend.
We still have some debt that will take another 6 years to get through and that is a drag on our Operation, too.
There are several things we can do to make our position more sustainable. We can get more sales from our existing customers, but that takes more marketing dollars to keep our price point as low as we can get it.
We can also come out with a few new items to increase our sales. We do have some new items we are working on, but new items are slow to develop and get into production, then into the stores.
Right now we are on a program to make our KONRIKO Creole Seasoning as attractively priced as possible. We are having some luck with this new program but we need to ask you to help us by picking up a can of our seasoning at your favorite store.
We are not bashful about asking for your help on the sales of our seasoning products. They are all made from very clean ingredients, all are MSG FREE, NON GMO, Gluten Free, low in sodium and are not highly processed. The KONRIKO name carries with it a promise of a quality products made right here in South Louisiana at America's Oldest Rice and seasoning Company.
If and when you find yourself shopping please keep an eye out for our KONRIKO brand products. We can use the help and, we promise, you will not be disappointed with our products.
On the sandwich front we will be making Cuban and BBQ Pulled Pork sandwiches Wednesday at noon out of our KONRIKO Co Store at 309 Ann ST here in New Iberia, La. Call ahead to reserve a sandwich, ( 337.364.7242). Our sandwich inventory is low but we will build it back up on Wednesday.
Come visit us and let us show you around our old historic rice mill. While you are here try our Wild Pecan rice we have cooked for you, The new/old burlap bags look super cool and make great gifts.
Hope to see you soon !!

08/24/2026

A couple of days ago I click on a program on our TV set, called " The Run for a Million". It was produced by Taylor Sheraton of Yellowstone fame and was about competition for a Million dollars among "reining horses".
I had never heard of reining horse competition of any kind, but it was really interesting. The horses and their owners and trainers were in serious competition, not only for the prize money but the title. Seems there are big bucks in training reining horses. Some of the horses sold for over $500,000.00 each.
After the show was over it got me thinking about my relationship with horses. I have spent a lot of time, in my life, on horse back.
Grew up with a horse that was a Christmas gift when I was 10 or 11 years old, her name was Sardine.
She was an ornery old mare that promptly took me under a clothes line and scrapped me off her back. After that initial ride we got use to each other and I road her all the way through high school.
Even delivered newspapers off her for my paper route in Bendel Gardens in Lafayette, LA.
I got bucked off a lot of horses at Jim Shoulders rodeo riding school in OK. Quite an experience.
Before I bought our old rice mill we raised cattle on Windy Hills Ranch in St. Martin Parish. Had about 100 or so mommy cows on 612 acres I had rented.
Didn't make very much money raising cattle but sure spent a lot of time on horse back, riding fence, herding cattle, etc. I really enjoyed my time in the saddle.
Now that we live in town horses are a by gone era for me. But to watch those reining horses and how well trained they were, was a thing of beauty. Maybe I'll get another horse, who knows.
One thing for sure is I will not be riding it to work, if I get one. No place in my office to keep one plus our black lab, Daisy, would not want to share her office space with a horse....don't blame her.
We are going to be packing KONRIKO Wild Pecan rice in our 7oz Burlap bags this week and repairing our seasoning can seamer. Seems a few bearings have worn out and need replacing. Not too tough a week, but next week will be a different story.
Our Cuban sandwich inventory in the KONRIKO Co Store freezer at 309 Ann ST here in New Iberia is getting low, so I will make some more sandwiches this Wednesday, around noon.
Even though it was hot over the weekend we had a pretty good turn out in our store on Saturday. We love showing our old rice mill to visitors from all over the 50 states and Europe. Come see what we have to offer. The tour takes about 40 minutes but add some time to that for sampling our many KONRIKO brand products and just browsing around. Try a little dab of Bay Island secret sauce on our Wild Pecan rice, they go great together.
Hope to see you soon, if not on Wednesday, picking up a Cuban or BBQ Pulled Pork sandwich.
P.S.
Maybe I should put a hitching post in front the store? No, not too many visitors ever show up here on horse back.

08/21/2026

This is "tongue in check" but I want to dispel a long held rumor or stereo type about our police dept, local or parish.
On my drive to work I turn onto St. Peter St making a right on to St Peter from Julia St.
As I proceed to the old rice mill I go right in front of Meche's Donuts, one of the best donut shops around.
Today, as I drove in front of Meche's I was passed on my left by a local New Iberia police car.
He did not stop at Meche's !
So the long held rumor that police cars are programed to stop at all donut shops is, just that, a rumor. I saw the police car go right on by, with my own eyes, pass the word along to our fellow citizens.
Another observation I had this morning, about getting older, is the ground is getting further away. I dropped my razor on the floor and it took me awhile to get my old body to stretch enough to reach down and get the razor.
One of the first signs of aging I know of is how your arms get shorter as your eye sight changes....oh you know what I mean, you have to keep holding the newspaper further and further to just keep the print in focus....just wait if you are not there already...the ground will get further the older you get, I promise.
The weather man is really letting us know to expect super hot days with little or no rain, this weekend. This is no laughing matter, be careful outside, stay hydrated and be sure your pets have plenty to drink, too.
We have been getting some really nice comments on the new burlap 7oz Wild Rice package...thank you, we agree, it fits our old rice mill image better than the slick cartons our ad agency folks keep pushing on us.
Since it is so hot out right now we would like to suggest you come spend some quality time at America's Oldest Rice Mill at 309 Ann St here in New Iberia, LA.
It is super cool, cool temperature and cool things to browse and look at. We have fresh coffee for you to enjoy and plenty of Wild pecan rice, seasonings and Bay Island Secret sauce samples to try.
We will be looking for you. I almost forgot, we have a good selection of Cuban and BBQ Pulled Pork sandwiched in our KONRIKO Freezer, just waiting for you. Why heat up your whole kitchen when just reheating our sandwiches can feed the whole family and make your homemaking tasks just a little bit easier.
We're waiting for you !!

08/20/2026

We had a " bang up" day, yesterday. Lots of visitors, more than usual for this time of year.
Our Cuban sandwiches sold very well and we still have a good inventory of fresh frozen Sandwiches in our KONRIKO Co Store freezer, located at 309 Ann St, here in New Iberia, La.
Just placed anther batch of our Wild Pecan rice into the freezer, which is the second part of our "Quality Control" program. The first part being our CO2 flushing of each Wild Pecan rice pouch, followed by placing the pouches in our cool room where the rice is staged and waiting additional tender loving care.
Yesterday our production fellows did some needed maintenance, followed with making several cases of our new 7oz Wild Pecan burlap packages. The new burlap package is really a cool retro look that does take a little longer to pack, but we think the look and feel of the package really fits the signature product of America's Oldest Operating Rice Mill.
I checked the new MOJO ingredient yesterday to see how the test packages were doing....glad to report all going well. I am shooting for a January 1st reintroduction of our KONRIKO Mojo seasoning, if at all possible, fingers crossed.
We are trying to develop one or two more new products for 2027-2028. We have lots of ideas as we have very fertile minds, too many ideas, if the true be told.
One of the great things about small towns is how you run into folks you have not seen for a while. While out and about I ran into the daughter of one of my Wife and I's favorite couples. We were in a supper club with her parents that lasted for over 30 years. We still all stay in touch. It was great to catch up on Jean and her family.
Got to go figure out how many labels to order for some of our seasonings, as we just ran out of three of our best sellers. Buying labels in a real large expense. We have to have enough ahead of us to last awhile as the lead time for labels is months, not weeks. I hate tying up the $$s but you can't sell anything if you don't have a label on it.
Come see us here at the Mill. I know it is hot outside but the store is nice and cool.
We will be waiting on you !!

08/19/2026

Yesterday, in production, was monumental !! In one 6 1/2 hour shift our production crew made, filled, packed and stacked on pallets 900 cases of our 6/2.5 oz Greek seasoning.
Now that may not sound like much for a big company to make, but we are not a big company. Actually, we are quite small and, while we strive to grow each year, we are not unhappy with our size in the food manufacturing business.
To put that production number in prospective, that is 900 shipping cases that had to be labeled then erected and taped open. That is 5400 individual seasoning cans that had to be filled, and seamed shut, then 5400 cans had to be put in the 900 cases, taped closed and stacked on pallets, wrapped for shipment and forklifted out the door.
The 2.5oz Greek seasoning is the slowest thing we make. It is 1/2 the size of it's big brother the 5oz Greek seasoning, so it takes twice as long.
Our crew knew they had a tough day ahead of them and came to work to get it done. I didn't think we could pack that much in a day as I figured we would be working on the orders into mid morning, today. Thank you production crew !
Cash flow for a small business like us is king. It is the last thing I think about when I go to bed and one of the first things I dwell on in the morning.
We have an excellent customer base, one of them is the Distributor who handles Amazon for us. They came through this morning with another order that is much needed to keep the cash a flowing.
I love this business, even if it is turning my hair greyer by the day.
About 9am this morning I will start making our Cuban and BBQ Pulled Pork sandwiches that I will cook in the KONRIKO Co Store around noon TODAY. If you would like to pick up one or two give us a call at 337.364.7242 and we will put one aside for you.
We also have a good inventory of fresh frozen sandwiches in our KONRIKO Co Store freezer located at 309 Ann st here in New Iberia, LA.
Today we will knock out a good sized gallon order of Creole Seasoning and get back on packing our Wild Pecan rice in our cool retro burlap packages. The new burlap package takes longer to make but we think the time and effort is worth it, as the burlap package helps show the difference in our product, like CO2 flushing, special milling techniques that keeps the rice brown but lets it cook in only 20 minutes, instead of 50 minutes.
Come visit us and pickup a bag or two. If you would like to taste our Wild Pecan rice first, no problem, we make a pot or two every day just for you to taste test it. It really tastes great with a small dab of our Bay Island Secret Sauce on it.
All in all we have a pretty good story to tell and show you when you come visit our old historic rice mill.
We will be waiting on you....don't disappoint us, please.

08/18/2026

We had a power outage at the Mill yesterday morning. It didn't last long and seemed to cover most of our part of town.
The problem is, when I am cooking our pork roast , which I did yesterday, it is in an electric oven. When the power goes out the oven shuts down. I didn't realize this at first so when I saw the oven had shut down I had to restart the whole process, what a PIA.
It delayed the time I usually cook the roast and take it out of the oven. That in turn, delayed the rest of our day.
Long story short, we got it all done only not on my schedule, but it got done. Got to be flexible to some degree.
The cases we are going to use today arrived later than we had planned too, but we got 500 cases labeled and erected which is enough to get us started.
We need to make right at 900 cases today, that will be a big challenge but we are up for it. While it is hot our packing areas are air conditioned so it makes it bearable to work.
Even though the roast took longer to cook I got it broken down and ready to make sandwiches tomorrow, Wednesday. So if you would like a really good Cuban or BBQ Pulled Pork sandwich think about us tomorrow around lunch time and come get one or two at our KONRIKO Co Store at 309 Ann St here in New Iberia, LA. You can call to reserve a sandwich too by calling 337.364.7242.
An update, we are testing a new citrus ingredient for our, currently shelved, Mojo seasoning. So far it looks like the new supplier's ingredient is working. Will take a few more weeks to see, but I have high hopes, stay tuned.
Please look for our KONRIKO brand seasonings and Wild Pecan rice in your favorite grocery store. If you see our Greek Seasoning give it a try, it is one of our best sellers outside of Louisiana. It is garlic based with hints of black pepper and greek spices. Really a great product.
Come visit us, it is hot outside, but nice and cool in our KONRIKO Co. Store.
Hope to see you soon.