Dissmore's closes its doors

Anthony Kuipers, Moscow-Pullman Daily News, Moscow, Idaho
·2 min read

Jul. 23—Dissmore's IGA, an 85-year staple of the Pullman community, closed its doors for good Friday.

The store announced in early June that it was sold to Rosauers Supermarkets. The space will undergo extensive remodeling in August to prepare for this change.

"It's kind of bittersweet," said Archie McGregor, who has owned the store with Shelley McGregor since 2006. "Knowing that the future of the store is going to be great for Pullman and everything. I'm happy about that and I'm happy about the future. It's going to be sad, between the employees and the customers and stuff, I'm going to miss them."

The store's final customers arrived Friday to peruse what's left of the Dissmore's inventory. Most shelves were empty as products were marked down as much as 75% to 90% off.

Archie McGregor called the store a "landmark" in Pullman. Some customers have shopped there for 50 or more years, he said, and former community members will come back to it when they visit Pullman.

Mandy Strey was one of the customers who trickled in Friday morning. She has lived on the Palouse since 2009, and used to live a short distance from Dissmore's, which made it convenient for last-minute shopping.

She, too, called the closure "bittersweet."

"They've been a staple in this area for a long time," she said.

She added that, for her money, Dissmore's had the area's best maple bars.

Beth Blakesley, a 20-year-Pullman resident, is a fan of Rosauers, so she is excited to have one close by.

That being said, she still felt sad to see a longtime part of the community disappear.

"It's hard to see when something like this goes away," she said.

The local grocery store was started in 1937 by the Dissmore family, who ran it for three generations. In the late '90s, it was purchased by a primary vendor, taking the store off the Dissmore family's hands. It wasn't until 2006 that the more recent owners, Archie and Shelley McGregor, purchased the store, giving it its last run.

The McGregors have since decided to close the store, after operating it for 16 years, because of facility maintenance and remodeling costs.

Archie McGregor expressed gratitude "to the community and all the customers and former employees for all their support and everything over the years."

Kuipers can be reached at akuipers@dnews.com.