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.

[1][3] In 1984, prior to retiring, Rosauer sold the company to URM Stores, a grocery supplier based in Spokane.

[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.

[14] In March 2011, Rosauers announced its plans to enter southern Idaho in 2012 with a store in the Boise area in Meridian.