The Roosevelt Store as it stood last week. It is winding down operations but what’s next for the site is unclear. The large name logo on the side was erased when the building was repainted.
Photo by Michael Whitney.
MONROE — The days have become numbered for the Roosevelt Store, the community market near Roosevelt and Trombley roads.
Last week, news that it is closing spread.
The current owner took over 19 years ago, and was nearing his 20th anniversary.
He did not want to provide an interview during a store visit, but did give appreciation for how nice people have been to him.
The Roosevelt Store building was built in 1920, county land assessor’s records show. Today’s owner said he’s heard he’s only the fourth or fifth owner in the store’s long history.
Inside, the shelves are starting to empty.
A public rumor the store will be turned into a marijuana shop, though, is unfounded so far.
“There are no pending applications for a cannabis licensee to move to this address,” Julie Graham, a spokeswoman for the state Liquor and Cannabis Board, said.
The store owner doesn’t own the underlying land. The Tribune couldn’t find a working phone number for the landowner, a Lake Stevens woman, to reach her.
Roosevelt Store fulfilled a role of supplying a community. A century ago, Roosevelt was a community with a schoolhouse, a gas station and one of the region’s small sawmills. Monroe’s city limits weren’t nearly as close.
A three-room schoolhouse came about in 1925 and operated until the 1950s when Monroe started to unify as a school district, from information at the Monroe History Museum. A one-room schoolhouse at Roosevelt and Trombley preceded it.
A number of small settlements around Monroe 100 to 150 years ago had similar setups with a mill, a general store and a schoolhouse. The museum, 207 E. Main St., has a display on this history.
