Rosauers Supermarkets, Inc. is a regional chain of supermarkets in the Western United States, based in Spokane, Washington. Founded in 1934 by J. Merton Rosauer,[1] Rosauers was sold in 1984 to Spokane-based URM Stores,[4] and it eventually grew to 23 stores under the Huckleberry's Natural Market, Rosauers, and Super 1 Foods brands. Its stores are located in Washington, Idaho, Montana, and Oregon.
History
In 1934, 20-year-old J. Merton Rosauer (1914–1990)[1] purchased a small grocery store in Spokane, Washington, after obtaining a $1,000 loan from his parents.[3] 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.[5] By 1938, Mert Rosauer sold his first store and invested in another grocery store.[3] After selling off his second store, Rosauer opened his and Spokane's first supermarket in 1949.[1][3]
In 1984, prior to retiring, Rosauer sold the company to URM Stores, a grocery supplier based in Spokane.[3] By June 1986, Rosauers was operating 25 stores in four U.S. states with about 1,500 employees.[6]
In September 1989, the Board of Directors for URM Stores made the decision to sell off the Rosauers chain.[3] URM Stores agreed to sell 15 of the 24 Rosauers stores through an employee stock ownership plan in February 1990.[7]
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.[7] With 425 of the 700 eligible employees voting, the final count was 377 for and 48 against the company's sale.[7] 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.[3]
In November 1993, Rosauers was assessed $50,450 in civil fines for violating federal child labor laws at eight of its Spokane-area stores.[8] 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.[8]
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.[9] In June 2000, the company operated 19 stores in the Inland Northwest.[9] Following the acquisition, URM Stores became the fourth-largest employer in Spokane County.[9] Since the sale to URM, Rosauers has opened two more stores, in Yakima, Washington (2002[10]) and Bozeman, Montana (2007[11]).
In December 2008, Rosauers was forced to temporarily close its store on Francis Street in Spokane after 25,000 square feet (2,300 m2) of the store's roof collapsed from record snowfall.[12] Spokane fire officials said no one was trapped in the debris and only a minor injury to a Rosauers employee was reported.[13] The damage estimate for the roof collapse at the Francis Street location topped $1 million.[14]
In March 2011, Rosauers announced its plans to enter southern Idaho in 2012 with a store in the Boise area in Meridian.[15] The Meridian store features a Huckleberry's Natural Market and a cooking school.[15] Initially, Rosauers said additional stores were a possibility for the Treasure Valley if the Meridian store performs well, however, in October 2017, the chain announced the closure of the five-year-old store.[16]
In March 2018, The City and Port of Ridgefield, Washington, 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.[17] The store opened on December 7, 2019, after several months of delays due to poor weather and permitting issues.[18]
Since April 2022, customers can shop through the delivery app, Instacart.
Huckleberry's Natural Market
In 1996, Rosauers opened the first Huckleberry's Natural Market on Spokane's South Hill.[19] After proving to be a success, Rosauers opened another Huckleberry's in Spokane Valley in December 1996.[20] The Spokane Valley store was eventually closed while the South Hill store remains in business.[19] Since 1996, Rosauers has added Huckleberry's Natural Market sections to its new and existing stores.[19]
