Rodgers Stores

Rodgers

Company type	Private
Industry	Retail
Founded	1938
Founder	Kenneth E. Rodgers, Frederick A. Rodgers
Defunct	1998
Headquarters	Portland, Oregon , United States
Area served	Portland metropolitan area, Oregon
Products	Variety store goods

Rodgers was a variety store chain headquartered in Portland, Oregon, operating for six decades from 1938 until 1998. At the time it opened in 1955, its flagship location was reportedly the largest independent variety store on the U.S. West Coast. This prominent store was situated in a newly built three-story 100-by-100-foot (30 m × 30 m) facility within Portland's Hollywood District, replacing two earlier outlets in that neighborhood.

The enterprise was established by brothers Kenneth E. Rodgers and Frederick A. Rodgers, who jointly served as co-owners and presidents until Frederick's passing in 1960 and Kenneth's retirement in 1972. Following Frederick's death, his widow Regina Rodgers managed several stores. The inaugural store was launched by Kenneth in 1938, with a second location added in 1944 within the Hollywood District. By 1953, the brothers operated six stores exclusively in Portland. Initially known as Rodgers' 5, 10, and 25 cent stores or simply Rodgers Five and Ten, the brand later shortened its name to Rodgers by the late 1950s. The 1955 Hollywood District building also served as the company's headquarters until the 1980s. That same year, a Rodgers outlet commenced operations at the Cedar Hills Shopping Center west of Portland, and by mid-1961, the chain expanded to eight stores. Throughout its history, some locations closed while new ones opened; by 1964, the eight stores within the Portland metropolitan area included branches in Lake Oswego, Oregon, and central Beaverton. The Beaverton store, which began business in 1958, ceased operations in 1983, while the Cedar Hills outlet relocated to nearby Cedar Mill, Oregon, another unincorporated community west of Portland.

During the late 1980s, Rodgers faced mounting challenges maintaining profitability amid intensifying competition from larger national retailers. Even established nationwide variety chains like Woolworth's and Newberry's were struggling against big-box retailers such as Wal-Mart and Target. In 1984, Rodgers sold its Hollywood District store and vacated the premises. The Cedar Mill location closed in 1988, with its space repurposed for an expanded Cedar Mill Library. The final three Rodgers stores—in Portland’s Menlo Park Shopping Center (at NE 122nd & Glisan), in the Westmoreland area of Portland, and in Lake Oswego—shuttered their doors in early 1998.