Natural Grocers now hiring for new Idaho store

Specialty retailer Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage Inc. will open its fifth Idaho store next month at 209 N. 3rd St. in McCall. The 16,350-square-foot store is scheduled to open Jan. 18, and is currently hiring for select positions, the Lakewood, Colorado-based organic-and-natural retailer announced on Thursday.

"We first began our search to staff this location last spring,” Michelle Hines, recruiting manager for Natural Grocers, said in a statement. “We are thrilled to finally be coming to McCall and can't wait to meet everyone. When you're a Natural Grocers Crew member (what we collectively call our employees), you are family. You're also the day-to-day face of our company. If you love helping people and have a passion for nutrition and healthy living, you could be the perfect addition to our team."

The company is looking to fill cashier positions; temporary positions with potential to go long-term; a grocery/dairy frozen assistant manager and a nutritional health coach. Positions are expected to start at the end of this month, the company said.

Grocery retailers saw an uptick in hiring in November, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data released Friday. Natural Grocers employs more than 4,000 Crew members at its 164 stores in 21 states. 

Last month, Natural Grocers said its fourth quarter was "in-line with our expectations." For fiscal 2022, the retailer reported its 19th consecutive year of positive daily average same-store sales growth.

"The fourth quarter results were in-line with our expectations given the moderation of pandemic trends, including more normalized levels of summer travel and food-away-from-home consumption," said Kemper Isely, co-president, in a statement regarding fourth quarter earnings. "We estimate that product cost inflation was approximately 7% for the fourth quarter and 5% for the fiscal year.”