Rosauers Supermarkets Inc., of Spokane, plans to close its grocery store at 8517 E. Trent by the end of March, says Larry Geller, Rosauers president.


The store has been ravaged by competition over the last several years, says Geller.


The outlet, which is a few blocks west of the intersection of Trent Avenue and Argonne Road in the Spokane Valley, is almost next door to a 47,500-square-foot Albertsons supermarket that opened in 1992 and also isnt far away from a 50,000-square-foot Tidymans store at 2024 N. Argonne that opened in 1996.


Geller says Rosauers is looking for another site in the Spokane Valley where it can open a store to replace the one that will close.


The Rosauers store on Trent is one of the chains older outlets and has only 34,000 square feet of space, compared to the 50,000 square feet of a typical Rosauers outlet today, Geller says.


Rosauers lease on the store building expires at the end of March, and the store will be closed by then, he says. He says the building is owned by the family of J.M. Mert Rosauer, the chains late founder, and now is for sale. The store has between 45 and 50 employees remaining, who will be transferred to other stores, he adds.


Employee-owned Rosauers operates 18 other stores, including nine in the Spokane area and one outlet each in Ellensburg and Colville, Wash.; Coeur dAlene, Lewiston, and Moscow, Idaho; Missoula, Kalispell, and Libby, Mont.; and Hood River, Ore. Most of the stores operate under the Rosauers name, but the chain also operates some of its stores under the Huckleberrys Fresh Market and Super 1 Foods names.