Business World |
April 2015
134
The story of Owens Meats began an aston-
ishing 128 years ago in Roslyn, Washington.
The family business was established in 1887
-two years before Washington officially be-
came a US State- by Morgan Owens. Lured
to the region as a result of the coal rush, Mor-
gan soon found that there was an entirely
different market to be explored: feeding the
legions of coal miners.
In 1906, after operating out of several differ-
ent locations in Roslyn, including the first
store which burned down, Owens Meats re-
located to what is now the Past Time tavern.
It was here where Morgan and his wife, Etta,
handed the responsibility of the market to
their sons Richard and David. Unfortunate-
ly, it wasn't long before the Owens brothers
were faced with two daunting challenges for