Zamzows

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, which was known as Zamzows Mill, soon evolved into Zamzows Coal & Feed, and 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, and has been added-on-to several times. 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 brother's interest in the business in the mid-1960s.

In the early 1970s, Bernard's sons Jim and Rick took over the operation of Zamzows and expanded the company's business to focus more on Lawn & Garden along with Pets, Pet Foo, and Pet Supplies. They also continued to manufacture and sell top quality Livestock Feed. In 1978 Jim and Rick bought Zamzows Inc. from their father.

Under Jim and Rick's leadership, Zamzows expanded the company by opening new a store in Emmett, and adding a 2nd Boise 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.

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 Distribution Center in Nampa, which also allowed Zamzows to add a 2nd Nampa store at this location.

In the early 2000’s, the small State Street store was closed and moved a beautiful new larger store located one-half mile East of the old store. The next expansion was 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. As of 2005, Zamzows Inc. now owned and operated 9 retail stores and a large Warehouse and Distribution Center.

In 2006, Zamzows closed the smaller Nampa store on Caldwell Boulevard, and moved into a beautiful new facility located just behind the original store, which was then torn down. In late 2007 Zamzows opened another new store using the same building plan as the expanded Nampa store. This beautiful new store was located on Overland just East of Eagle Road, and represented Zamzows third Meridian retail store.

In 2014 Zamzows new Middleton store was opened and held its Grand Opening July 5th. While it was a much smaller store than Overland, it still carries all of the essentials for Lawn Garden & Pet and was very successful. That success led the company to remodel their 2nd Nampa location on North Franklin Boulevard, and in late 2015, the Franklin store reopened with a new format designed for quick and easy shopping to take advantage of the store’s excellent location just off Interstate 84.