Rosauers Supermarkets, Inc. is a regional chain of supermarkets in the

Western United States The Western United States (also called the American West, the Far West, and the West) is the region comprising the westernmost states of the United States. As American settlement in the U.S. expanded westward, the meaning of the term ''the Wes ...

, based in

Spokane, Washington Spokane ( ) is the largest city and county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It is in eastern Washington, along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south of the Canada ...

. Founded in 1934 by J. Merton Rosauer, Rosauers was sold in 1984 to Spokane-based URM Stores, and it eventually grew to 22 stores under the Huckleberry's Natural Market, Rosauers, and Super 1 Foods brands. Its stores are located in

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyom ...

Montana Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columbi ...

, and

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

History

In 1934, 20-year-old J. Merton Rosauer (1914–1990) purchased a small grocery store in

, after obtaining a $1,000 loan from his parents. His father, Joseph P. Rosauer (1888–1961), owned two grocery stores in Spokane on East Sprague and in Parkwater, where Merton and younger brother Roswell worked. By 1938, Mert Rosauer sold his first store and invested in another grocery store. After selling off his second store, Rosauer opened his and Spokane's first

supermarket A supermarket is a self-service Retail#Types of outlets, shop offering a wide variety of food, Drink, beverages and Household goods, household products, organized into sections. This kind of store is larger and has a wider selection than earli ...

in 1949. In 1984, prior to retiring, Rosauer sold the company to URM Stores, a grocery supplier based in Spokane. By June 1986, Rosauers was operating 25 stores in four U.S. states with about 1,500 employees. In September 1989, the Board of Directors for URM Stores made the decision to sell off the Rosauers chain. URM Stores agreed to sell 15 of the 24 Rosauers stores through an

employee stock ownership plan Employee stock ownership, or employee share ownership, is where a company's employees own shares in that company (or in the parent company of a group of companies). US employees typically acquire shares through a share option plan. In the UK, Em ...

in February 1990. On April 10, 1990, Spokane employees of Rosauers voted to accept amendments to their labor contracts that would allow the employee purchase of the company. With 425 of the 700 eligible employees voting, the final count was 377 for and 48 against the company's sale. The sale was completed on July 27, 1990, with the company's 1,250 employees receiving ownership of 15 supermarkets, one freestanding pharmacy, an ice cream plant, and the corporate office building. In November 1993, Rosauers was assessed $50,450 in civil fines for violating federal child labor laws at eight of its Spokane-area stores. Rosauers president Larry Geller said most of the violations involved one or two hours over the 18-hour weekly limit set for employees under age 16. RosauersMeridianIdaho

On June 13, 2000, Rosauers announced URM Stores had completed the purchase of Rosauers after more than 1,800 of Rosauers' employees voted in favor of the sale. In June 2000, the company operated 19 stores in the

Inland Northwest The Inland Northwest, historically and alternatively known as the Inland Empire, is a region of the American Northwest centered on the Greater Spokane, Washington Area, encompassing all of Eastern Washington and North Idaho. Under broader defi ...

. Following the acquisition, URM Stores became the fourth-largest employer in

Spokane County Spokane County is a county located in the U.S. state of Washington. As of the 2020 census, its population was 539,339, making it the fourth-most populous county in Washington. The largest city and county seat is Spokane, the second largest cit ...

. Since the sale to URM, Rosauers has opened two more stores, in

Yakima, Washington Yakima ( or ) is a city in and the county seat of Yakima County, Washington, and the state's 11th-largest city by population. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total population of 96,968 and a metropolitan population of 256,728. The uninco ...

(2002) and

Bozeman, Montana Bozeman is a city and the county seat of Gallatin County, Montana, United States. Located in southwest Montana, the 2020 census put Bozeman's population at 53,293, making it the fourth-largest city in Montana. It is the principal city of th ...

(2007). In December 2008, Rosauers was forced to temporarily close its store on Francis Street in Spokane after of the store's roof collapsed from record snowfall. Spokane fire officials said no one was trapped in the debris and only a minor injury to a Rosauers employee was reported. The damage estimate for the roof collapse at the Francis Street location topped $1 million. In March 2011, Rosauers announced its plans to enter southern Idaho in 2012 with a store in the Boise area in

Meridian Meridian or a meridian line (from Latin ''meridies'' via Old French ''meridiane'', meaning “midday”) may refer to Science * Meridian (astronomy), imaginary circle in a plane perpendicular to the planes of the celestial equator and horizon * ...

. The Meridian store features a Huckleberry's Natural Market and a cooking school. Initially, Rosauers said additional stores were a possibility for the

Treasure Valley The Treasure Valley is a valley in the western United States, primarily in southwestern Idaho, where the Payette, Boise, Weiser, Malheur, Owyhee, and Burnt rivers drain into the Snake River. It includes all the lowland areas from Vale in rur ...

if the Meridian store performs well, however, in October 2017, the chain announced the closure of the five-year-old store. In March 2018, The City and Port of

Ridgefield, Washington Ridgefield is a city in northern Clark County, Washington. The population was 10,319 at the time of the 2020 census, up from 4,763 in 2010, making it the fastest growing city in the state of Washington. Located within the Portland metropolitan ...

, issued a joint press release welcoming a new Rosauers location to the city, anticipated to open in the early 2019. The location would be the chain's first in western Washington. The store opened on December 7, 2019, after several months of delays due to poor weather and permitting issues. Since April 2022, customers can shop through the delivery app,

Instacart Instacart is an American company that operates a grocery delivery and pick-up service in the United States and Canada. The company offers its services via a website and mobile app. The service allows customers to order groceries from participatin ...

Huckleberry's Natural Market

In 1996, Rosauers opened the first Huckleberry's Natural Market on Spokane's South Hill. After proving to be a success, Rosauers opened another Huckleberry's in

Spokane Valley The Spokane Valley is a valley of the Spokane River through the southern Selkirk Mountains in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington. The valley is home to the cities of Spokane and its suburbs Spokane Valley, Washington, Spokane Valley ...

in December 1996. The Spokane Valley store was eventually closed while the South Hill store remains in business. Since 1996, Rosauers has added Huckleberry's Natural Market sections to its new and existing stores.

References

External links

* {{Supermarkets of the United States Supermarkets of the United States American companies established in 1934 Retail companies established in 1934 Companies based in Spokane, Washington 1934 establishments in Washington (state)