Eighty years is a long time— it’s a lifetime. Dissmore’s IGA marked their 80th anniversary Saturday with a bang, having a massive store-wide sale, birthday cake and even local celebrities brought in to bag groceries.

Owner Archie McGregor came up with the idea for a sale, where 80 items across the store were sold at 80 cents. The list included everything from alcohol to organic produce.

“I tried to select a variety of items that would appeal to everyone,” McGregor said.

Dissmore’s sets itself apart from its competitors partly because of its status as an Independent Grocers Alliance (IGA), which is the largest affiliation of its kind in the U.S.

“IGA is not just in the U.S., it’s global,” McGregor said. “Because of the ties IGA has to major vendors and global partners, they keep us abreast of what is going on with training and showing us what is happening in the rest of the world.”

Dissmore’s has been serving the Pullman community since 1937 and has witnessed not just changes in the community, but changes in the entire grocery industry.

“The whole industry has changed, and we have just kept up with it,” McGregor said. “People used to go to store with a list, and they would get your items for you behind the counter, and now it’s a supermarket.”

The location of Dissmore’s means they pull customers from Campus and Military Hill, as well as plenty of college students.

“It’s kind of a unique mix of people, so we are always looking and asking,” McGregor said. “As independents, it’s easier for us to meet their needs.”

On the actual day of the sale, shoppers walked in to see decorations everywhere, free birthday cake being served, and local celebrities such as Rueben Mayes, former football player for WSU and later the NFL. The police chief, fire chief and Evan Ellis of Pullman Radio News contributed by bagging groceries.

Sample tables were set up everywhere, showcasing the items on sale. The produce was especially popular, with cantaloupe, pineapple, mangoes, bananas and avocados on sale.

Archie McGregor’s wife, Shelley McGregor welcomed customers inside and served birthday cake. Shelley is from a farm family on the Palouse and is passionate about serving her community, she said.

Customers often have stories about Dissmore’s over the years, and being an IGA makes the store more local, Shelly explained.

“We had a woman who was one when the store opened, and she just came to shop the sale and is a regular here,” Shelley said.

The Dissmore family is still local celebrities around this small town. Mark Dissmore helped bag groceries on the 80th anniversary and had his own crowd of people waiting for him to box their groceries, Shelley said.

“We’re more local, we can support the local community in ways global stores cannot,” Archie said. “The grocery store is where everyone goes and meet their friends or see them while shopping. It acts as a community center, and we try to make it a fun place to shop.”