 Rosauers Supermarkets had its
beginning in 1934 when J. Merton Rosauer, just out of school, bought a little grocery
store on the corner of Sprague and Lee Streets in Spokane, Washington. The purchase was
financed by a $1,000 loan from his father and mother. These were Depression times, it was
four years before the loan could be paid back out of profits.
 It took courage and faith to launch
a business at a time when America’s economy was turned upside down, and over the
years Mr. Rosauer would parlay these traits into one of the most successful and innovative
corporations in the Pacific Northwest. In 1938 he sold his first neighborhood store, and
with his earnings reinvested in another. A short time later he repeated this process
again. Then in 1949, Mr. Rosauer opened the Company’s first – and Spokane’s
first, supermarket. It was at 3rd and Oak, and it incorporated lessons and ideas that had
been 15 years in the making. At that time, Rosauers had only about 20 employees. But these
dedicated people made the new supermarket an instant success. Presently, that market is
seven times larger than its original size.
Since the first supermarket in 1949,
Rosauers has expanded to include conventional Supermarkets, Food and Drug Centers and
Super Stores, Price Impact Warehouse Super Stores, and Natural and Organic Super Stores
serving the Inland Pacific Northwest in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and Montana.
In 1984 Mert Rosauer sold the
company to another Spokane-based business, URM Stores, Inc. By doing this, Mert felt that
the traditions he established would endure at the stores he founded for many years to
come.
In September 1989, URM Stores, Inc.,
Board of Directors officially decided to sell Rosauers. As of July 27, 1990, a dream came
true for all Rosauers 1,250 employees. They became the proud new owners through an ESOP
(Employee Stock Ownership Plan) of fifteen (15) stores in four states, one freestanding
pharmacy, an ice cream plant and the corporate office building.
Since 1990
Rosauers has purchased Market Time Drug in Lewiston, Idaho
to incorporate the Pharmacy into a new 53,000 square foot
Rosauers Food & Drug in Lewiston, Idaho, and purchased
the Drug Fair drug store in Moscow, Idaho to incorporate into
and expand the Rosauers Food & Drug store in that community.
In October of 1994 Rosauers acquired the Super 1 Foods in
Spokane and in October of 1996 Rosauers purchased the Monroe
Street Market and Spokane Wine Company in Spokane only to
close them and convert the Market to Huckleberry’s Natural
Market featuring the Spokane Wine Company as a prominent department.
In December of 1997, Rosauers acquired the Super 1 Foods in
Colville, Washington for its third Super 1 Foods Store. As
of January 1, 2000, Rosauers Supermarkets, Inc. consists of
13 Rosauers Food & Drug Super Stores, 5 Super 1 Foods
Super Stores and Huckleberry’s Natural Market with approximately
1,800 employees.
In late
February 2000, URM (the primary supplier to Rosauers for over
50 years) announced its intention to purchase Rosauers to
retain its single largest account and expand its presence
in the wholesale and retail grocery industries. More than
1,800 Rosauers owner-employees region-wide unanimously voted
in favor of the sale. The sale allowed Rosauers to continue
the growth it had experienced over the past several years
by providing additional capital and shared resources. With
a combined workforce of 2,500 region-wide, the new company
created the fourth largest employer in Spokane County, and
the fifth largest private company in Washington State in terms
of revenues.
Rosauers principles
of treating the customer as royalty and taking care of employees
are and will continue to be permanent guides to direct our
company’s future.
Welcome to Rosauers, Welcome to our
Store.
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