Zamzows Inc. is a family-owned and operated business founded by August (Gus) and Carmalita Zamzow during the Great Depression in 1933. The original store, Zamzows Coal and Feed, was located on the corner of Fairview and Liberty in Boise, where the company's Fairview store is still located. The present building was constructed in 1970. After World War II, Gus and Carmalita sold the company to their two sons Bernard and Stanley, who expanded the business by purchasing and remodeling Zamzows Feed Manufacturing Mill in Meridian in 1953, and Zamzows Kuna Feed Mill in 1960. Bernard bought out his brothers interest in the business in the mid 1960s.
In the early 1970s, Bernards sons Jim and Rick took over the operation of Zamzows and expanded the companys business to focus more on the Lawn & Garden segment along with Pets, Pet Food and Pet Supplies, as well as Livestock Feed. In 1978 Jim and Rick bought Zamzows Inc. from their father and are still the present owners of the company.
Under Jim and Ricks leadership, Zamzows expanded the company by opening new a store in Emmett, and adding a 2ndBoise store on State Street, as well as remodeling the Meridian store into a better retail location and rebuilding the Kuna store. They also pioneered the Science Diet and Iams Pet Food lines and became the Iams distributor for Idaho, Utah, Eastern Oregon and Washington.
A Lawn Service Division was also added, along with a new General Office and DistributionCenter to accommodate the rapidly growing business activities of what was now a 5-store chain.
In the 1990s, Zamzows built new stores in Nampa, on Federal Way in Boise, in Meridian, and in Eagle. The Emmett store was closed and consolidated into the new Meridian store and a new store in Eagle. 1993, the company sold both the Iams Pet Food Division and the Lawn Service Division to concentrate on running what was now a 7 store retail chain. In 1999 the company relocated to a bigger General Office and DistributionCenter in Nampa, which also allowed Zamzows to add a 2ndNampa store at this location.
As of 2005, Zamzows Inc. owns and operates 9 retail stores and a large Warehouse and DistributionCenter. The latest addition is the September 2004 acquisition of the former Petal Pusher Nursery located in Meridian on Chinden Boulevard, between Locust Grove and Meridian Roads. As one of the largest indoor greenhouses in the State of Idaho, this new store has allowed Zamzows to greatly expand the amount of nursery stock the company can carry at all nine stores.
In addition to the Chinden operation (which also serves as companies plant distribution center), Zamzows Inc. owns and operates 3 stores in Boise, a 2nd store in Meridian, two stores in Nampa, and individual stores in Eagle, and Kuna. Annual sales for 2005 are expected to exceed 14 Million Dollars.
The majority of the companys sales come from the sale of Lawn and Garden products, with Pet Food and Pet Supplies a close 2nd. The company still makes its own custom-blended livestock feed at the original Feed Manufacturing Facility in Meridian. Over the past 20 years, the company has also aggressively developed its own line of natural based lawn and garden fertilizers too, as well as a line of all natural pet foods, which all now outsell the National brands by a wide margin at the 8 Zamzows stores. Through it all Zamzows Inc. has remained true to their original mission statement, which they call The Zamzows Way. It reads:
To Provide the highest quality environmentally sound products
at a service level Beyond Our Customers Expectations.