Summer is here
Schools out, the weather is heating up and we’re heading into our fourth month as Oregon City’s new, local and family-owned downtown micro grocery. Cold sparkling water, coconut water, kombucha, hydrating beverages, iced tea, energy drinks, cold brew, boba bubble tea and soda are fully stocked. A cooler (and numerous shelves) of curated craft beverages including beer, wine, cider, seltzer and sake also cater to what our customers are seeking to sip.
A rotating selection of small, seasonal gifts (including locally made candles, teas, soaps along with books, puzzles and more) has sprung up on our shelves, accompanied by PNW-crafted greeting cards for easeful, anytime gift shopping.
The summer sun bathes our south-facing 6th Street windows. Our plants thrive. Cream colored curtains are drawn when the sun is strongest. Ice cream proves essential. Local dairy, tortilla chips, fresh salsas, hot sauces and chili oils become market staples. Deliveries from local farmers and makers come in by the dozen each week. An array of sandwiches, salads, yogurts, noodles, fruits, snacks and treats cater to the working folks from Oregon City’s downtown businesses. We befriend new faces from up on the bluff, around the city, across the bridge, from Portland and far beyond.
Again, we’ve added news shelves, expanding our inventory and ever thoughtfully curating what we stock in these sweet 600 sq ft. We seek out the best pricing to keep our high quality goods competitive and rotate inventory to keep things fresh. In June, we started working with two more local farms and many new small PNW purveyors. There’s always more to explore.
We stretch our community legs. Three new stools outside welcome you to linger. A bulletin board in the hall offers a free, equitable analog option for messaging the community (please ask inside before posting). We are part of Downtown Oregon City’s spring and summer wine walks and are quick to say yes to fun community events. In July, we’ll host a free pop up craft beverage tasting 1-3pm 7/25 during the First City Celebration. We also continue our weekly 4:30-6:30pm Friday tastings (see the full listing on our July calendar).
It’s exciting to now have a little sales data, and oh so tempting to want to draw conclusions about what is working and what is not. We are still early in the process. We meet new people every day. In fact, about two thirds of our customers have been new the past two months. It’s wonderful to hear that people have been meaning to come in when they visit. It’s lovely to welcome back familiar faces and have folks become regulars. It’s heartwarming to read our (all five-star!!) reviews and feel encouraged. We keep learning what our customers love, as we work to make this independent grocery a place where you authentically feel good shopping.
