2024 Rosauer's 90th Anniversary

The Shelby Report of the West joins Rosauers in celebrating its 90th Anniversary

From humble beginnings, grocer has grown to serve Inland Pacific Northwest

Spokane, Washington-based Rosauers Supermarkets is celebrating its 90th anniversary in 2024, with plans to mark the milestone in July.

Following the annual Rosauers Open, a golf tournament to raise funds for local nonprofit Vanessa Behan, the company will spend a couple of weeks celebrating the anniversary, according to CEO Cliff Rigsbee.

“We’re going to have a great time. We’re going to dress up in the stores and might even put the old white shirts and bow ties on and maybe even have some throwback pricing,” he said. “We’re going to have some fun and really honor Mert Rosauer and what he did 90 years ago.”

Early days

Rosauers Supermarket was founded in 1934, when J. Merton “Mert” Rosauer, just out of school, bought a small grocery store on the corner of Sprague and Lee streets in Spokane. According to the company’s website, his parents loaned him $1,000 to finance the purchase.

This was during the Great Depression, and it took the young Rosauer four years to repay the loan out of store 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,” according to the website. “In 1938, he sold his first neighborhood store, and with his earnings reinvested in another. A short time later he repeated that process again.”

In 1949, Rosauer opened a supermarket, the first for the company and for Spokane. The store was located at 3rd and Oak streets. With just 20 employees and drawing on the lessons he had learned over the past 15 years, the supermarket became an instant success. That first store is still in operation, albeit in a space seven times larger.

Over the years, 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.

Ownership changes

Prior to retiring in 1984, Rosauer sold the company to another Spokane-based business and his supplier, URM Stores Inc. By selling to URM, he believed the traditions he established would endure at the stores he founded.

In September 1989, the URM Stores Board of Directors decided to sell the Rosauers chain. On July 27, 1990, the 1,250 Rosauers employees became owners of the company through an Employee Stock Ownership Plan. At that time, the company had 15 food and drug stores operating in four states, one free-standing pharmacy, an ice cream plant and the corporate office building.

Since 1990, Rosauers made several acquisitions to add to the total number of stores in operation. These included Market Time Drug in Lewiston, Idaho; Drug Fair in Moscow, Idaho; Super 1 Foods in Spokane, Washington; the Monroe Street Market and Spokane Wine Company in Spokane; Super 1 Foods in Walla Walla, Washington; Super 1 Foods in Colville, Washington; and the Excel Food Store in Colfax, Washington. New stores have been built in Yakima and 9 Mile Falls, Washington; Bozeman, Montana; and Meridian, Idaho.

In June of 2000, the employees unanimously voted to re-sell the company to URM Stores. Today, Rosauers Supermarkets Inc. consists of 18 Rosauers Stores, four Super 1 Foods Stores and one free-standing Huckleberry’s Natural Market. The company has some 2,100 employees.

In Washington, Rosauers serves the Ellensburg, Yakima, Colville, Spokane, Colfax, Ridgefield, Pullman and Walla Walla communities. Its Idaho locations can be found in Moscow and Lewiston. In Montana, Rosauer stores are in Libby, Kalispell, Missoula and Bozeman. And in Oregon, customers can find Rosauers in Hood River.

All Rosauers Supermarkets have the following departments: produce, bakery, deli, meat, floral, general merchandise and grocery. Most locations have a pharmacy department with pharmacists on site. In addition, Huckleberry’s Natural Market can be found in many Rosauers Supermarkets as a store-within-a-store.

ABOUT THIS SECTION

Rosauers Supermarkets is celebrating its 90th anniversary in 2024. In addition to marking the milestone, the Spokane, Washington-based company is known for the longevity of its employees.

The Shelby Report of the West’s Bob Reeves recently visited with CEO Cliff Rigsbee and several others on the executive team about their journeys with the company and why its customers have remained loyal for almost a century.

‘We’re definitely on a growth trajectory...’

Spokane-based company eyes technology upgrades

Rosauers Supermarkets Inc., based in Spokane, Washington, is a fully-owned subsidiary of URM Stores Inc. and operates under three banners: Rosauers, Super 1 Foods and Huckleberry’s.

CEO Cliff Rigsbee said there are 24 stores in the company: 19 Rosauers Supermarkets (including a proposed acquisition in Twisp, Washington), four Super 1 Foods locations and one Huckleberry’s store.

Rigsbee, who described his role at Rosauers as “the best job I’ve ever had,” has been with the company three years after working for Albertsons in many different operations and merchandising roles throughout the West – having started as a courtesy clerk.

Huckleberry’s was the first natural organic market in Spokane, according to Rigsbee. It offers exclusively natural and organic products. The Huckleberry’s store in Spokane features the Ninth Street Bistro, with made-from-scratch menu options and live music nights.

Super 1 Foods, with four locations, offers “a little more price impact,” Rigsbee said.

While URM offers support with IT services, insurance and capital, Rosauers handles its day-to-day functions in-house. As a co-op, the majority of the profits go back to the member-owners.

“Obviously, we’ve got to keep the business running and keep capital for future growth, but we strive to give money back to the member-owners of URM as well,” he said.

Rosauers is continuing to grow, and in November opened a new store in Pullman, Washington. Rigsbee said it is a great location for the company, as it is close to the campus of Washington State University.

“Growth wise, we’re looking at deals every single day, what makes sense for us and for our format, and obviously for URM from a distribution standpoint to make sure we’re inside of that umbrella … But we’re definitely on a growth trajectory. It’s just a matter of what makes sense and what’s right fiscally and what our customers are telling us they want.”

Rigsbee said the company has a “really good brand” in Huckleberry’s. The store-within-a-store concept for the natural and organics brand is strong in several markets. Also, the standalone store in the South Hill neighborhood performs well.

“It’s got an unbelievable scratch bistro, and a great neighborhood feel,” Rigsbee said.

He noted that the Huckleberry’s employees know the products they sell and can help customers get the products they may not have on the shelf. “Most traditional grocers are into the mainstream, natural organic business, but they’re not into why somebody would want it or how to get other products that aren’t necessarily widespread.”

Technology upgrades

In addition to installing a new POS system, Rigsbee said the company is looking at starting a loyalty program. Rosauers has four fuel centers, and a loyalty program would offer customers discounts on gas, among other benefits.

Upgrades and improvements to its technology will allow Rosauers to build on the deep relationships it has with its customers.

“We’re in the process of transitioning our POS system so we can have a robust loyalty program,” Rigsbee said.

Rosauers is using Instacart, which purchased Rosie, for its e-commerce platform and launched the Instacart Marketplace about two years ago. The company launched with DoorDash in April.

However, Rigsbee said Instacart will be the platform for all things e-commerce in-house going forward. Instacart is coming out with a new platform that most of the Rosie customers will transition to, which will be managed and supported by Instacart. Rosauers is working with ECRS on its new POS system and is using BRdata Cloud “where we can aggregate data and see

down to the SKU level,” Rigsbee said.

He added that it is important that the company move forward with technology, as today’s customers expect stores to connect with them on a personal level. “I feel our customers expect great service when they walk into the store. And to my mind, we’ve got to extend the omnichannel environment where everything they know about Rosauers should be as personable and relevant as it is when you walk through our doors.”

Rigsbee praised Rosie and Instacart as great partners.

“They’ve been great to work with folks like us that don’t have real big infrastructure from an e-commerce perspective,” he said. “I appreciate those guys. And as we start utilizing Instacart even more, it’s just going to make it even more powerful.”

Rigsbee said Rosauers is on a journey to be relevant in today’s society as a full-service, quality assortment grocer. He noted the company must continue to evolve to stay competitive. “Smaller, independent grocers don’t have nearly the firepower that the big power buyers do, for sure.”

Rigsbee said they have been making some changes and recently had a successful online April Fool’s sale. He was surprised by how many people follow Rosauers on social media and shared the event.

In an effort to attract the younger generation, he said it is important to show them value, which doesn’t always need to be in pricing. “I think people are looking for quality and convenience. I think they’re looking for answers from ‘a what’s for dinner’ standpoint, they’re looking for some understanding on how to cook things. They’re looking for the experts in food.

“And that’s what we want to be, we want to be the experts in food. When somebody thinks about what’s for dinner, I want them to think about Rosauers and all the different options that we have.”

He said the company also will be sponsoring community events that resonate with younger families.

“We have just agreed to be the grocer sponsor of the new professional soccer team that has just come to Spokane. This will give us some great opportunities to get in front of a great growing demographic in our market.”

Encouraging diversity

Rigsbee said diversity is important to the company. “There is all kinds of diversity, whether it’s racial, religious, ethnic, gender … Especially as our communities get more diverse, you have to be diverse to compete because you can’t just continue to do the same thing how you always did. That’s a huge factor for us to move forward.”

From a gender perspective, about 56 percent of department heads in the company are women. He said his team recently had a meeting on the topic.

“We’re moving some assistant managers around. We had a conversation about how we make it more attractive for some more diverse folks. How do we actively find some folks that wouldn’t necessarily be raising their hands?”

Giving back

From a giving back perspective, Rigsbee said “the Rosauers brand and the Rosauers team has been great.” He noted that when he joined the company, Rosauers had a reputation of making a difference in the communities it serves. One of the company’s biggest fundraisers is the Rosauers Open, which benefits Vanessa Behan, an organization that provides immediate refuge for children and support to strengthen families.

Behan was a 2-year-old who died from child abuse injuries. Following her death, a group of business people in Spokane established the organization to provide a safe place for parents to bring their children in the face of crises. The organization opened its doors in 1987. Three months later, Rosauers founded the event, which has become the biggest pro golf sectional tournament in the Northwest. Since its launch, it has raised nearly $4 million for the organization.

The company also supports local food banks and school lunch programs in its communities.

Employee appreciation, recognition

One thing that stands out at Rosauers is the longevity of many of its employees. The company recognizes them through its Long Service Awards.

With 24 stores across a four-state footprint, Rigsbee said the company has about 14 banquets every other year.

“At each one of those banquets, you have a person that’s been with us for at least five years, and then it’s in five-year increments. They get to bring a spouse or a guest, and we get to sit down for the evening and honor them and tell them ‘thank you’ for everything they’ve done. Because everybody knows the grocery business is all about the people.”

He said the program started about 30 years ago. Today, members of the senior leadership team attend each event.

The most recent banquet was held in Hood River, which honored 50 employees. A photo of each person was shown with the number of years they have been with the company.

“Just thinking about it still has my hair raised on the back of my neck. The camaraderie and support as they clapped for each other as each anniversary was shown was just awesome.”

Rosauers also holds an Employee of the Year program, where each store manager brings a top employee to the event held at Bozarth Mansion, owned by Gonzaga University, in Spokane. Also at the gathering, a store number is drawn out of a hat and the person representing that store gets to spin a wheel for a prize.

A couple of years ago, an employee won $20,000.

Cliff Rigsbee

Recent refresh, remodel gives Rosauers Store No. 2 illuminating look

Rosauers Store No. 2 was built in 1949, the second in the company founded by Mert Rosauer. Ken Bester is the store manager.

While it has been added to several times, it was remodeled just over two years ago. Rosauers COO Gordon Thompson said it was the first remodel in about 25 years, “so it was pretty tired.”

One of the biggest changes was the addition of new windows, which allow in natural light. Thompson said former CEO Jeff Philipps was “pretty adamant” that they cut in the windows and get natural light into the store.

Customers have loved the changes. “They were overjoyed. They couldn’t believe the change once we got it all done,” Thompson said.

The store remained open during the remodel, which was “a little painful at times,” he said. “But we got through it.” Some departments, such as the service meat area and parts of the deli and bakery, had to close for a couple of weeks.

Walking into the store, the pharmacy is to the side before entering the produce department. While most stores feature the Huckleberry’s store-within-a-store area, this location was too small to accommodate that, according to Thompson. However, it does carry a broad selection of Huckleberry’s natural and organic items, which carry a purple tag.

Each produce case is new, and the windows brighten up what was previously a dark area prior to the remodel. The wet rack and low profile of the produce cases lend a unique

look, Thompson said. The department also features packaged produce and grab-and-go items.

The dairy department also sports new cases, with energyefficient doors.

The overhead lights are all LED, another energy-efficient feature. The floor is made of wood, not the typical concrete found in many grocery stores. Thompson said that is because there is a basement underneath, which is used for storage.

“Back in the day, when they delivered trucks, they would deliver full loads and would put it down in the basement.” A conveyor belt brings products up to the main floor.

Rosauers is known for its meat, bakery and produce departments. Thompson noted the meat department carries St. Helens Premium Angus beef, adding that everything is choice cuts.

Rosauers also carries certain products from Painted Hills, which is a higher end natural beef, and some stores also boast selections from Snake River Farms, “which is very high end,” he said.

All meat is cut on the premises and each store but one has a service case.

All Rosauers locations feature scratch bakeries. Thompson noted popular items include a focaccia bread with jalapeños and a variety of sourdough breads. Customers can get their bread sliced in store.

The deli features a variety of items and also offers custom sandwiches. Fresh coffee is available and is a popular stop for customers.

Thompson said the company has expanded the beer offerings, especially in speciality micro-brews and seltzers.

Ken Bester

Gordon Thompson, chief operating officer

Gordon Thompson, chief operating officer for Rosauers Supermarkets, has been with the company for 22 years. He was promoted to his current role in January.

Recruited in 2002 to join the company as a merchandiser, he was promoted to district manager about 18 months later and served in that role for about 18 years.

Thompson has worked in the grocery industry since he was 15, bagging groceries for his dad, who worked for a small regional chain in Montana. After college, where he majored in business management and marketing, he returned to the Montana chain. He stayed there for 18 years before joining Associated Foods Stores, which is based in Salt Lake City.

He worked in its Billings office for about a year before transferring to Salt Lake City, where he remained until joining Rosauers.

Thompson said his roles with AFS, as a retail counselor and then as a category manager, helped him experience both the wholesale and retail sides of the industry.

He joined Rosauers about two years after the ESOP ended and the company was bought back by URM Stores. Jeff Philipps was CEO at the time, and Thompson said it was under Philipps that Rosauers really began to grow.

“We invested a lot more money in our stores, because we had some [stores] that were pretty tired. We had a lot of remodels, about two a year, and started building new stores. It had been a long time since we had built a new store.”

The growth was not “super quick” but steady. URM helped with equipment and the remodeling through its facilities department, Thompson said, while Rosauers’ CEO and COO “drove the bus.”

Today, the company is beginning to remodel some stores again. It is working on the store in Libby, Montana, which was last updated about 25 years ago.

No stores have been relocated as the company “basically worked within the box we had.” Thompson noted stores ranged in size from 30,000-52,000 square feet when he joined the compan. When the Bozeman, Montana, store was built, it was 62,000 square feet. “They get bigger and more complex all the time.”

Other projects the company is working on include installing a new front-end system, which Thompson said they hoped to

Carla Inama, controller

Carla Inama, controller, has been with Rosauers Supermarkets for 26 years. She began her career in accounts payable and worked her way up. She briefly left in 2016 to work for parent company URM Stores but returned in 2018 as assistant controller. In 2021, she was promoted to controller.

A Spokane, Washington native, Inama came to Rosauers after college. She had been working at a restaurant while attending Gonzaga University. When it closed, she decided to apply at Rosauers. Earning a business administration degree from Gonzaga, she later returned to school and finished a degree in accounting.

She said she has “loved every person I’ve worked with. I always tell people there’s never been a day I’ve not wanted to go to work. I’ve been lucky enough to love my job, love what I do, enjoy the people I’m with.”

While there are plenty of stressful times, she said everyone is friendly and willing to work together. “I feel like we’re pretty much like a family for the most part … We all want to see Rosauers succeed and prosper and continue on.”

Inama said the Rosauers accounting department handles 23 stores. “We have a lot of invoices. Everything comes centrally to our office to do all the processing. We do all of our fixed asset accounting. We do a lot of work in there.”

Inama does “a lot of the number crunching.” As a manager, there is a lot to balance but she maintains an open-door policy.

“I like to make sure that I’m approachable,” she said. “If people have questions, they can come to me.”

She has a team of 17 in her department, including AP and AR supervisors. “Ultimately, it comes back to me, so I do like to make sure that we have communication and are approachable.”

She noted that a couple of people in her department have been with the company for decades. While there is room for advancement, it “doesn’t happen often because most of our people stay.”

“We’ve had a good amount of people that are 30-plus years,” Inama said. “We have just gone through a big retirement phase, so we’ve had a lot of new people the last year or so, which is inevitable. It’s learning and teaching. It’s a lot, but we seem to manage.”

The company always is looking for opportunities to grow.

“We’re pretty close with how we manage our funds and how we manage our company,” Inama said. “We definitely need to make sure we’re bringing in stores that are going to benefit the company. We can’t just pick up a store just to pick up a store. There’s a lot of research and looking into companies and evaluations.”

Inama described previous CEO Jeff Philipps and his successor, Cliff Rigsbee, as “great men, very smart, very approachable, which has been great for me. They’re always willing to help. We can talk things through.”

She said both have led the company through different phases. The last few years Philipps was at Rosauers, things were stable until the COVID-19 pandemic hit. “Then it was all hands on deck.”

launch in late summer.

A major initiative a few years ago involved installing selfcheckout lanes in the majority of stores. Thompson said the decision was made coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic and the labor issues that had entailed.

“That kind of forced our hand on that,” he said. “It was surprising when we first rolled it out how well people actually grasped it, especially the younger set.”

Thompson said the company continues to invest in technology, and CEO Cliff Rigsbee is “very adept in that and he keeps pushing to expand. He’s looking at loyalty programs, that type of thing that we’ve never had before. And the new front-end system will allow us to do a lot more of this type of activity.”

According to Thompson, when customers think of Rosauers, they think of service and quality, especially in perishables. “We pride ourselves on our meat quality, our produce quality, how we merchandise it, how we handle it. And the service piece is the big thing.”

He said the company culture is “really huge,” which has resulted in employee longevity. Former COO Mike Shirts retired in January with 50 years of service to the company.

“That’s pretty amazing. And that’s kind of what we’re known for,” said Thompson, adding many people in the industry seek to join the company “because they hear about our culture and how we treat our people.”

He said it comes from the top down, with former CEOs and now Rigsbee working to maintain that company culture. “That’s what gives us our family feel.”

Two of Thompson’s three sons work in the industry, including one for Rosauers in Spokane.

Thompson is excited for the future of Rosauers, which he sees as being more technology driven. He believes Rigsbee will lead them to the next level. “He understands how important it is to keep up and stay relevant. He’s doing a fabulous job of that.”

Rigsbee came on board toward the end of the world-changing pandemic. He understood he was the new person coming in and has taken the time to “untangle things or figure out the whys. He’s willing to do that, which is good … He definitely has a vision.”

Inama said she understands the role of her department and that “we’re overhead.”

“We need to make sure that we’re being efficient, we need to make sure we’re accurate, we need to make sure that we’re doing our jobs correctly.”

At the end of the day, Inama said it is important that they “do the fundamentals.”

“That’s our role, to process things timely and as efficiently and accurately as possible. That’s our return on investment.”

Gordon Thompson

Carla Inama

‘It’s unlike anything in the area ...’ Huckleberry’s focus on local,

Founded in 1996, Huckleberry’s is the natural and organic banner of Rosauers Supermarkets. There is one stand-alone store in Spokane, and 17 Rosauers and Super 1 Foods locations have Huckleberry’s store-within-a-store sections where the banner’s products are featured.

Huckleberry’s was the first natural and organic grocery store in the Inland Northwest, according to Josh Davidson, store coordinator. He and Nick Law, assistant store coordinator, took The Shelby Report of the West’s Bob Reeves on a store tour.

Davidson has been with the Rosauers company for 24 years, nine of them at Huckleberry’s. Law has been with the company for 10 years.

Davidson describes Huckleberry’s as a “cute, fun little neighborhood grocery store. It’s unlike anything in the area.”

When entering the store, customers see the full organic produce department. It also features a full-service butcher in the meat department, where all products are at least naturally raised. The bakery procures its goods from shops in the Spokane area. While Rosauers features a scratch bakery, Huckleberry’s has strict ingredient guidelines and a focus on local.

“Rosauers will bake for us from time to time, but they have to use things like real butter instead of Crisco, that type of thing.

natural, organic

But we’ve got plenty of good local bakeries and buy wholesale from them,” Davidson said.

He shared that Huckleberry’s recently received a Best of the Best award in the natural organic grocery category from The Inlander, a local publication. “We’ve won that for the last 27 years.”

He said in the article the store was able to highlight its partnership with local bakeries. He cited as an example Chaps, a popular bakery and restaurant in Spokane.

“During the pandemic, they were getting ready to shut their doors because it was just tough to run a business and a restaurant at that time. They reached out to us about buying additional wholesale from them, and they started sending their customers to us. It gave them a way to keep their staff moving and producing product and making money. At the same time, it kept us full of product. It became a nice symbiotic relationship.”

Davidson said that arrangement has continued, to the benefit of both parties. “It’s just how we work with the local community. It builds goodwill.”

The store also has a full restaurant, the Ninth Street Bistro. Breakfast, lunch and dinner are served throughout the day, with all foods made from scratch. Cold entrees and salads are

available, along with sushi, a hot bar and six soups offered daily. A coffee and juice bar carries all organic products. The bistro also features live music on Saturday nights.

Available on Friday and Saturday nights, a pasta bar offers custom pasta with salad and bread sticks, draft beer or a glass a wine. An omelet bar is open on Saturday and Sunday mornings.

“We try to cater to as many people as we can – clean ingredients, scratch food,” Davidson said.

He noted that many customers say the store has “its own Huckleberry smell when you walk in. It smells like fresh-cooked food and like home.”

The store also features a wine, beer and spirits area. A wine manager, who also has a spirits certification, is available to help customers with selections. All beers are sold by the bottle or can, so shoppers can create their own six-packs.

The Natural Living department carries home health care and beauty items, including herbal remedies, homeopathy, protein powders and natural cosmetics.

Davidson said department head Judy Miller was “a day one hire. She opened this store back in ’96.” Miller has “maybe the smartest mind in Spokane when it comes to home health care and beauty supplements. She’s just a whiz. You can ask her anything, and she has an answer for you.”

Huckleberry’s customer base runs the generational gamut. Davidson noted some have shopped the store since it opened and now bring their children and grandchildren.

“It’s a very unique store,” he said, adding that the South Hill community includes a cross section of young working adults and families, as well as professionals, college professors, doctors and retirees. “We draw them all.”

When asked about not having a store uniform for employees, Davidson said they like their aprons and name badges, but “we want our customers to see our employees’ authentic self … Some days we’ll dress up, some days we’ll dress down, but we want our employees to feel like they can just come to work and be themselves. I think it makes a difference in how they feel about their work environment. The customers enjoy it.”

Marti Sunderlin, chief merchandising officer

Marti Sunderlin, chief merchandising officer, joined the Rosauers team about four months ago. He came to the company from a Midwest independent grocery chain.

“I’ve spent all my previous grocery experience in the Midwest, so this is my first time out in the western part of the United States,” he said.

Sunderlin, who grew up in the Fargo area of North Dakota, started his grocery career in 2004. “I was just looking for another job opportunity at the time. And there was an opportunity to work in the grocery industry.”

Sunderlin has a business degree and previously had worked in computer and software sales.“It was kind of a complete flip from an industry standpoint.”

He worked with Hornbacher’s, which later was bought by Coburn’s, for a total of 19 years.

“It’s a very similar operation. Both were family-started organizations. And the great thing is just being able to help impact the team and really get to know the people at the store and learn more about the company that way, which has been really good as I’ve gotten into this role.”

Sunderlin is responsible for the merchandising and marketing aspect of Rosauers.

“It’s looking at what we do to have the right items in front of the customer at the store,” he explained. “We look at what we’re going to put in a weekly advertisement or programs that we’re going to do, how we lay things out in the store.”

Sunderlin has directors working in each of those areas, and they are trying to “figure out what are the right items that our customers are going to want.

“The buyer has the opportunity to make that decision, so we

Allan McIntire, district manager 2

Allan McIntire has been a part of the Rosauers family since 2001. He has been in the grocery industry for 34 years. McIntire manages District 2, which comprises central Spokane, the area north of the city and Montana.

Originally from Southern California, his family had moved to the Northwest when he was about 10 years old. McIntire started his career at age 15, working for a small mom-and-pop store, Suncrest Supermarket, where he did a bit of everything – wrapping lettuce, ordering produce and dairy and even cutting meat.

From there he went to Excel Foods, which was a small regional URM Stores chain, as the dairy manager. He then became one of the grocery leads, which was his role when he joined Rosauers after the company bought two Excel Foods stores.

From there, he was promoted to assistant manager then to store manager of the new store the company built in Suncrest. He also has served as a general merchandise buyer. His latest promotion came about to replace Gordon Thompson, who was named COO.

McIntire joined the company when Jeff Philipps was CEO. “I had a great relationship with Jeff, like most of us did. He was

a very personable guy. He’s one of the guys that knows the store managers’ names and the courtesy clerks’ names when he walks in.”

McIntire likened his new role to “being the store manager of 12 different stores.”

“We are a liaison between the office and the stores … We’re usually just a presence that can go in and be a third set of eyes,” he said.

When visiting a store in his district, his job begins from the road, “just to see what a customer sees as we’re pulling in the parking lot … and then whatever they’re going to experience when they go inside the store.”

McIntire added that he is still learning in his new role but is becoming more comfortable. He noted the company is in transition now, “where we’re trying all kinds of new things, new programs” under CEO Cliff Rigsbee.

One of those is cut fruit in the produce departments. That has entailed creating a specific, safe space in the back to cut the fruit and then create a spot for it on the sales floor.

He noted that each merchandiser has been challenged to come up with something new, such as finding better containers. The state of Washington is “getting rid of Styrofoam. Most trays, if you think about the meat department or a cup on the shelf, are in foam. So we’re looking at different programs. How do we package [these items]?”

really empower them to make the decisions to bring in the right items that are going to sell in the stores,” he said.

According to Sunderlin, his experience with other companies helped prepare him for his role with Rosauers.

“I started out in the stores, was a store director for a number of years and then moved into different merchandising roles.” Those help him to understand what happens in the stores every day and the challenges they face.

“I’m always thinking about what’s the reaction going to be from a store when we decide to roll out a different merchandising program or something else that we want to try in the store – what’s the impact? What’s it going to be from a labor perspective? How will it be received at the store? All those different pieces, I try to see all sides of that.”

Sunderlin has been learning what resonates with Rosauers’ customers, including what is offered in-store.

“We’re a scratch bakery,” he said. “Having that scratch bakery item when they come in the store is great … We’re making our own scratch cookies, using real butter, real eggs, we’re doing the same with making doughnuts every day.

“What really sets us apart is some of the things that we still do in-store that you don’t find in every traditional grocery store.”

The company also is known for “anything on the fresh side.” According to Sunderlin, it tries “to have the freshest product out there every day for every customer.”

Looking at the company’s three banners, Sunderlin said the Rosauers stores offer traditional grocery. He noted that Huckleberry’s is the company’s natural, organic market. It has one standalone store but also exists as a store-within-a-store inside the other banners. “It’s a great natural organic market with a very strong foodservice presence.”

Sunderlin said he has enjoyed getting to know the people at Rosauers and seeing how passionate they are about their jobs and “how interested they are in what they’re doing every day.”

In his first two weeks with the company, he visited every store to talk with the managers, meet the employees and understand their roles. Sunderlin said he has noted the longevity of many of the employees, as well their passion for their jobs.

McIntire said one of his biggest goals is training employees to be future leaders, particularly as more senior staff are retiring.

“Luckily for Rosauers, people stay a long time because they enjoy us. But people come and go. So what are we doing to make sure that this person is the next competent store manager?”

He shared that he also is following up on a project he started in his previous role – “going scan based on our greeting cards.” There is a lot involved in that effort, but it is not something customers will necessarily notice.

“It’s almost done, and that’s going to be a huge savings to Rosauers,” he said.

Marti Sunderlin

Allan McIntire

Scott Stephens, director of security

Scott Stephens, director of security for Rosauers Supermarkets, began his career with the company as a high school student in 1978 and returned in 2017 to lead the department. The years in between were spent with the Spokane Police Department.

His first stint with the company started as a summer job.

Scott Stephens

“Rosauers was such a good company to work for, and they were so accommodating that when the school year rolled back around, I just kept my job. They worked around my school schedule and my sports schedule.”

At that time, the company was still owned by its founder, Mert Rosauer, and Stephens said he got to meet him a few times.

“Mr. Mert Rosauer was really a genuinely nice person. He was one of those guys that even though he was the founder and owner of that company, if he saw you, he would acknowledge you, he would speak to you. He just seemed to be a very kind man.”

Stephens remained with the company until January 1986, when he was hired full time by the Spokane Police Department. He had been a reserve officer for two years while still working for the grocer.

He retired from the police department in 2013. However, after a couple of years of enjoying retirement, his wife – who was still working – encouraged him to go back to work.

The opportunity to return to Rosauers in a new role came up, and he took it. When applying for the job, he wrote a letter to then-CEO Jeff Philipps. He recalled working for the company while in high school that “I felt like Rosauers was really there to support me while I was developing my skills and education. And now that I’ve accumulated all this knowledge and experience, it’s my way I’d like to give back … and share my knowledge with you this time.”

Stephens has brought his law enforcement experience to his position. He said the people skills he developed over the years helped him learn how to de-escalate volatile situations. He also said he looks at how to take advantage of the principles of CPTED (crime prevention through environmental design) and make them work in the grocery business.

Some worked well and some didn’t. “We’re not all about protecting stuff. We’re about making sure that it’s readily available and easily accessible by our good customers,” he said. “I had to balance that out.”

The company has security in every store. Stephens has a team of about 10 who rotate among the Spokane stores, while

the locations outside the metro area have someone assigned specifically to them. He said they try to cultivate mutually supportive relationships with the police departments in the cities that Rosauers serves.

Since coming back, he said he has suggested some changes to enhance security. One of those was changing the ingress/ egress doors. As a result, he said cart pushes decreased about 80 percent. “It didn’t cost us a lot of money but saved us a lot in the long run.”

He also has been conducting the company’s industrial safety inspections. In addition, Stephens has worked with the HR department to develop video training for the stores located farther away from Spokane. He also visits the stores and does walk-throughs with the managers, as well as teach classes for the security team.

He also is the food safety compliance coordinator for Rosauers and works with parent company, URM Stores.

Stephens said he communicates daily with the district managers, along with the CEO and COO, adding that he enjoys the company’s team approach. “It’s just a really positive environment to work in.”

He said he talks about the company culture when interviewing prospective employees, saying it’s not unusual to find people who have been with Rosauers for 30 or more years.

“I think that’s just a huge tribute to the company and the culture that we’ve established. But I also like to tell people, we are small enough that what you do matters. You can feel like you’re really contributing to the success of the company.”

Former chief operating officer credits Rosauers’ success to ‘culture of care’

Former Chief Operating Officer

Mike Shirts retired from Rosauers Supermarkets on Feb. 3, after 50 years of service.

He started working for Rosauers, which was the neighborhood grocery store in his hometown of Moscow, Idaho, on Jan. 30, 1974. The store was located one block from his childhood home.

“It was a very natural place to go to work. Rosauers has always been and continues to be exceptionally good to employees. In the early years, my supervisor worked around my school schedule very well.”

Shirts said he originally had aspired to be a tax accountant. He attended the University of Idaho while working at Rosauers at night.

“I soon realized I enjoyed people and would rather be in a people business,” he said, noting that his knowledge of accounting was valuable in his grocery career.

In 1990, Shirts said the management team and store managers banded together and bought 15 stores from URM Stores, which had previously purchased Rosauers from founder Mert Rosauer. He said those were challenging times, as the newly formed ESOP was heavily leveraged.

“Our focus was very much on building market share by being more competitive and paying down debt. This plan worked very well, and the enormous debt was paid down in seven years.”

Shirts said the ESOP was formed as a way to reposition the company and get a fresh start.

“The morale during the ESOP was incredibly good, with more employee involvement and all of us being held accountable for the results. Achieving goals was celebrated by all and having all employees be able to see personally the financial gains they were making through ownership.”

In 2000, the ESOP ended when the company was sold back to URM Stores.

Looking back over his career with Rosauers, Shirts said the company has been fortunate to have “excellent CEOs that made great business decisions, with a genuine concern for the employees.”

He credits Rosauers’ success to the fact that it has never wavered from its fundamental culture of quality and service.

“It has always had a culture of care for our employees and the community. Rosauers’ support of local non-profits is second to nobody – Vanessa Behan, Second Harvest, Community Cancer Fund, American Diabetes association, American Heart association and many, many more.”

Mike Shirts

‘Price

impact player’ Super 1 Foods known for sausages, smokehouse products

Super 1 Foods is a banner of Rosauers Supermarkets Inc. COO Gordon Thompson described it as “more of a price impact player than your traditional Rosauers.”

Super 1 Foods is a franchise name that Rosauers kept after purchasing the stores about 25 years ago.

Thompson said a “claim to fame” for the store is its smokehouse. “It’s got an excellent meat department.” All sausages and brats are made in-house, along with

smoking bacon, pepperoni sticks and other meats.

The smokehouse is popular with customers, said Thompson, adding that “there’s good gross margin in it.”

He noted the store is easy to shop and has a stack wall featuring a variety of products. The store also features a Huckleberry’s section, which carries natural and organic items.

“Pretty much anything you want from a Rosauers you can get it also at Super 1,” Thompson said.

The produce department is a focus of the store, which also features artwork on the walls. A remodel was done about 10 years ago.