Rosauers Supermarket 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, and 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 that process again. Then in 1949, Mr. Rosauer opened the Company’s first – and Spokane’s first – supermarket. It was located 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. Interestingly, that first store is still operating, in a space seven times larger than its original size.

Since the first supermarket in 1949, Rosauers has expanded its operations to include conventional Supermarkets, Price Impact Super Stores, and Natural and Organic Markets serving the Inland Pacific Northwest in Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Montana. Since 1990, Rosauers has made several acquisitions to expand existing stores and add to the total number of stores in operation. These included Market Time Drug in Lewiston, ID, Drug Fair in Moscow, ID, Super 1 Foods in Spokane, WA, the Monroe Street Market and Spokane Wine Company in Spokane, WA, Super 1 Foods in Walla Walla, WA, Super 1 Foods in Colville, WA and the Excel Food Store in Colfax, WA. New stores have been built in locations including Yakima, WA, 9 Mile Falls, WA, and Bozeman, MT.