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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Going Organic Rosauers Launches New Market Concept Featuring Natural, Organic Food

A new player with a 50-year history in the grocery business entered the natural and organic foods market on Wednesday.

Rosauers Supermarkets announced plans for Huckleberry’s Fresh Market on Spokane’s South Hill. The market will feature organic produce, meats and specialty products.

The 17,550-square-foot store will open Dec. 11 at 9th and Monroe, the former site of the Monroe Street IGA.

Consumers are more health conscious, making natural and organic foods hot items in the grocery industry, said Norm Carpenter, director of marketing and operations for Huckleberry’s.

“The time is ripe,” Carpenter said. “Many of us are searching for natural, effective and safe health care solutions, alternative health measures, improved fitness and just good fresh food. Huckleberry’s Fresh Market will lead the way.”

Carpenter said the market would be the first of a new chain, adding to the 17 regular supermarkets Rosauers operates in four states. The second Huckleberry’s store will be 34,000 square feet, said Alan Shepherd, store coordinator. A location for the second market wasn’t revealed.

The new market is just four blocks from one of Rosauers’ regular supermarkets, at 14th and Lincoln. Though the two stores will compete to a certain degree, Carpenter said he hopes the organic market will create a new customer base.

Acquisition and construction costs for the new market are estimated at $1.6 million. It will employ between 25 and 40 people. Shea Construction is general contractor.

Huckleberry’s will feature more than 10 departments, including organic produce, hormone-free seafoods and meats, baked goods, a cafe, juice and espresso bars, health and beauty aids and cosmetics, homeopathic medications and bulk foods.

The market also will have a full-time staff nutritionist, a library of information about natural and organic foods, a sushi bar and a massage booth.

“You won’t find anything like this is the Inland Northwest,” Carpenter said.

Another organic market similar to Huckleberry’s in vision, but not size, opened at Division and Riverside in June.

Bountiful Fresh Foods is a 5,400-square-foot store featuring a deli with organic meats, juice and espresso bars, bulk grains and all-natural cosmetics. Owners Linda Fossi and Rebecca Rebmann have owned A Trip to Bountiful, an organic market in Coeur d’Alene, for four years. The pair also plans to expand, with two more stores in Spokane and a larger store in Coeur d’Alene.

“We welcome them to the community,” Fossi said of Rosauers’ foray into natural foods. “We look forward to a good working relationship.”

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