Huckleberry’S Closing One Week From Today

Sushi, soy milk and the Spokane Valley apparently don’t mix.

On June 27 the Huckleberry’s Fresh Market in the Valley will close its doors, laying off its entire 42-person staff.

This week’s announcement comes just a year after Rosauers converted its 35,000 square-foot grocery store at the corner of Sprague Avenue and Sullivan Road into a high-end organic market.

“It’s hard to say why people do or don’t buy natural food,” said Bill Haraldson, Rosauers chief operating officer.

Rosauers studied the demographics around Spokane looking for consumers who would support an organic foods store. That included people with more education and higher incomes - the same kind of people living near the smaller Huckleberry’s store on the South Hill, which became a success as soon as it opened in 1996.

“The same kind of people were near the (Valley) store,” he said. “I think it’s a mind set. You either are or are not leaning toward natural food.”

But, the competition was fierce, no matter what the demographics foretold.

Close to the corner of Sprague and Sullivan, past which about 23,000 cars drive daily, are a Fred Meyer supermarket, a Yokes Pac n’Save grocery and a Safeway.

“I don’t know if that’s a good corner for a grocery store,” Haraldson said.

Last fall, at the request of customers, Huckleberry’s began stocking Pepsi, macaroni and cheese, toiletries and other mainstream products found at run-of-the-mill grocery stores.

And while rumors had been circulating for months about the store’s closing, loyal customers kept coming back to its fresh juice bar and bistro filled with curried salads, lentils and fresh soups.

“I’m upset,” said Mary Kuhlman, who stops in weekly to pick up lunch and take it back to her job at Good Samaritan Village. “I don’t want them to close.”

“We don’t have anything like this out here.”

Rosauers hopes Valley customers will travel to its smaller South Hill store.

But customer Julie Gantar from Coeur d’Alene says she won’t drive that far. This was close enough for her to get her organic-food fix.

“They’re closing? Oh, no. No. No,” she said shaking her head. “That makes me sick. Tell them not to do that. We just got this.”