Longtime local natural foods grocer passing torch to new ownership from California
A local family grocery operation known for its natural-foods selection as well as deli is changing hands after decades of operation.
Marlene's Market & Deli, 2951 S. 38th St. in Tacoma and the brand's store in Federal Way are being acquired by the Lassens Natural Foods & Vitamins grocery chain of California for an undisclosed sum.
Raymond Martherus, director of marketing for Lassens, confirmed the sale with The News Tribune on Friday.
He said via email, "The owners of Marlene's were interested in the next chapter of their journey, but wanted this well-established, longtime staple of the community and a large part of their legacy to continue."
Lassens intends to keep the Marlene's name on the stores, and Martherus added that Lassens would "officially take ownership on November 13."
The biggest change to come after Nov. 13 is that the stores will be closed Sundays, according to Martherus.
Marlene Beadle, the grocery's founder, worked at a natural health food store in Federal Way before purchasing it in 1976 and ultimately changed the name to its current moniker. The grocery moved to a two-story storefront, the former REI building, near I-5 in Federal Way.
She further expanded Marlene's by adding the Tacoma location in 1996 and in 2014 expanded the Tacoma store another 3,000 square feet. The sites have both been family operated.
Beadle died in 2019 at age 85 after battling cancer.
How the deal came together
Beadle's daughter Lisa Gebhardt is general manager and CEO of Marlene's and its two locations. She told The News Tribune in an interview Monday that the deal came together "pretty quick" this fall.
"We've been in business 48 years," Gebhardt said, "and we were looking toward what we needed to do in the future with our family."
Gebhardt said a friend had heard Lassens was considering an expansion in the Pacific Northwest, "and we found that they were going to be a great fit for to keep Marlene's going."
Martherus said via email that Lassens felt it was a good fit "to continue what Marlene had started as we too are a family owned and run business — started in 1971 as a woman-owned business."
Oda Lassen was nearly 53 when she launched the grocery, which now has 11 locations in California. Lassen, who came to the United States from Denmark with her husband in the early 1950s, passed away in 2013.
The two women followed similar paths into the natural-food business. In the late '60s, Beadle read Lisa Clark's "Stay Younger Longer" and soon became a booster of healthy, natural foods. She eventually went to work in the natural-foods retail sector.
Lassen's passion was already in place when she first started working in a health-food store. In 1971 she opened her own storefront, emphasizing organics, fresh juices and vitamins.
"Like Marlene, our founder Oda Lassen also knew the value of providing wholesome foods, organic produce and natural supplements to her community," Martherus wrote.
"That was a really important parallel for us when we discovered (the similarities)," Gebhardt said. "Marlene started the business in 1976, their mom also started in the '70s, and these two women were pioneers in the natural-food industry."
While current Marlene's employees at the stores will stay on, Gebhardt said the family is retiring.
"We were ready for a new chapter in our lives and are ready to spend time with family, including our dad, who needs care," Gebhardt said.
"We're proud of the legacy that Marlene and our family built over the years," she added, "and we are looking forward to doing our own shopping at Marlene's and watching it continue to grow."
As for Lassens, "They know how important Marlene's is to the community and what we've built as Marlene's legacy," Gebhardt said. "If a customer comes in, they're going to see the same thing that they always see. The same employees, our same products."
Asked if the family had any final message for customers, Jennifer Lehman, Gephardt's sister and finance director for Marlene's, offered one:
"Keep shopping at Marlene's, folks!"
