Spokane-based Rosauers Supermarkets Inc. is planning a multimillion-dollar remodeling push that will involve updating all eight of its stores here during the next four years.


Rosauers President and CEO Jeffry Philipps says the sweeping renovation is part of the 21-store chains new strategy to improve the look of and broaden the product mix in its established base of grocery stores here, rather than focusing on adding additional stores. Such a reinvestment in the Spokane stores will help the company boost its market share here and remain competitive, Philipps says.


A lot of our competitors have built new stores or remodeled existing stores over the last few years, he says. Well be the newest and shiniest when were all finished.


The improvement plan comes on the heels of three consecutive years of record sales for the 69-year-old company, which is owned by Spokane-based wholesale grocery distributor URM Stores Inc., Philipps says. He declines to disclose annual revenue figures or forecasts for this year, but says 2003 is off to a strong start as well.


The supermarket chain has stores in four statesWashington, Oregon, Idaho, and Montanaincluding 15 Rosauers Food & Drug Centers, five Super 1 Foods stores, and a Huckleberrys Natural Market. Of those, six Rosauers stores, one Super 1 Foods, and the Huckleberrys store will be upgraded in the Spokane area.


The remodeling push marks a change in strategy for Rosauers, Philipps says. In recent years, the company has concentrated on expanding its chain. Last year, it opened its first supermarket in Yakima, Wash., and two years ago, it acquired Excel Foods outlets in Colfax and Deer Park, Wash., both of which have been rebranded as Rosauers outlets.


The company will kick off the remodeling push next month by starting a $2 million renovation of its 52,000-square-foot supermarket in the Five Mile Shopping Center, at the northwest corner of Francis Avenue and Maple Street on Spokanes North Side.


Philipps says work there will convert that location into the companys flagship supermarket.


Rosauers expects to select a contractor for that project soon and start work there in mid-May. The project is scheduled to be completed in October. The supermarket will remain open while the work is under way.


The exterior of the 23-year-old Five Mile store will be reworked so that its predominantly red brick and glass. It currently consists of large, gray bricks and red, metal awnings.


The stores interior will be renovated to make more efficient use of the space and allow some departments, including the deli, wine department, meat department, frozen-foods section, and produce area, to expand, Philipps says.


Amenities that will distinguish the Five Mile store as the companys flagship will include a fireplace in the deli seating area, copper-shingle roofing over some food displays, and faux windows with backlighting that will make the store appear brighter, Philipps says.


He says Rosauers is evaluating its other Spokane-area supermarkets to determine how much work each one needs and which store will be remodeled next. For that reason, its difficult to say how much money the chain will spend overall on the renovations.


Some of the newer stores, such as the 4-year-old Rosauers supermarket in the University City Shopping Center, in Spokane Valley, might need little work, he says. Older stores, such as a Rosauers at 907 W. 14th on Spokanes South Hill, might need as much work as the Five Mile location.


While the other Rosauers supermarkets here will be remodeled, they likely wont look exactly like the envisioned flagship supermarket at Five Mile, Philipps says.


Well try not to re-create the theme at any store, he says. We want each store to be unique to the geography it exists in and unique to itself.


Rosauers last remodeling effort occurred in 1997, when the company updated two of its supermarkets, one on the South Hill and the other on the North Side. The Five Mile store hasnt received any significant improvements since it opened in 1980.


Meanwhile, at Five Mile Shopping Center, Spokane-based Dixon Investments Co., which owns the 160,000-square-foot retail center, plans to begin an exterior upgrade of the rest of the retail center later this year.


Were going to tie in with what Rosauers is doing, Dixon President John Stejer says. Basically, were bringing the rest of the center up to their retail standard.


Stejer declines to disclose the estimated cost of Dixon Investments planned improvements to the rest of the center. He expects the company to select a contractor after Rosauers does so.


Five Mile Shopping Center was developed in the early 1960s, and Dixon Investments has owned it since 1988. .


ALSC Architects PS, of Spokane, designed the upgrades at Rosauers and the Five Mile Shopping Center.