Kathy's Market gets new life

SPRAGUE – Kathy's Market has been revitalized.

Raj Singh purchased the grocery story in December 2022. At the time, the store had a considerable amount of old inventory and dusty shelves and little produce.

But Singh has been in the grocery business for 14 years and understood the upgrades it would need.

He owns three other markets: Jim's Market in Lind, a grocery store in Mansfield and a convenience store and gas station in Spokane Valley.

Singh's first steps were to hire local Diane Gomes as manager and begin cleaning every possible surface, putting old merchandise on clearance to make room for new, fresh inventory.

He revitalized the produce cooler and started getting in fresh produce weekly, something local residents had dearly missed.

After that, he proceeded to find new items and services Sprague was missing.

Singh also had the outside of the building painted, refreshing the downtown atmosphere.

Fast forward a year and Kathy's Market now employees one part-time and three full-time workers; he hires local people when possible.

Singh and his employees have introduced take-and-bake pizza and nachos with fresh pico degallo.

They also make fresh fruit salads by the bowl and occasional special desserts such as apple crisp or large sugar cookies.

The store has a cappacino machine and continues to sell beer, wine and liquor, as well as lottery tickets.

Singh plans to add more hot food next year.

Since he purchased the business, Kathy's Market has hosted two Customer Appreciation Days, serving free hot dogs or other items. The story has also hosted a sidewalk sale during Sprague Days.

The biggest challenge, Singh said, is explaining to customers why prices are higher than big box stores in Spokane and other areas at least a half-hour drive away.

The higher prices, he explains, are because he can only buy a pallet of product at a time, while big box story buy truckloads.

Still, he tries to take save costs when he can by taking all four of his stores into consideration on his purchases; when he can, he buys more and divides it by four, which keeps prices lower than they would otherwise be in his small stores.

Singh said he is pleased with how nice Sprague residents have treated him.

Singh supports community efforts and hopes the Chamber of Commerce and events like Sprague Days will draw more foot traffic into his and other local businesses.

Any event that can bring others into town will help local businesses, he said.

The store does not have a website, but is active on social media.

Singh is in and out of the store weekly, relying on his local manager and employees to keep the store open longer hours and staying involved with community.

He looks forward to an even better second year in Sprague, he said.