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About What's happening. (Eugene, OR) 1982-1993 | View Entire Issue (Aug. 20, 1987)
Marketplace BOOKS Welcome! 10th Delegation from Kakegawa / See our selection of books on Japan 5TH ST. PUBLIC MARKET Corner 5th & High 343-5614 === (SWEATSHOP) Vstle) VECY We’re moving to campus MOVING SALE 50% off selected items MONSAT 10 am-6 pm 949 Pearl 343-8352 Lunch at Track Town. Pizza Bagels • Salad Bar • Sandwiches • Whole Wheat or Regular Crust Pizza • 484-2799 We deliver free! (Limited area) 1809 Franklin Across from U of O TRACK TOWN PIZZA Sandpiper Import Service HONDA • TOYOTA VW • SUBARU REPAIR & MAINTENANCE and others New Car Service FREE ESTIMATES • MONDAY-FRIDAY 9-5:30 343-9427 2525 WILLAMETTE VI NOW OPEN IN EUGENE. Complete home furnishings, gifts and more right here on Willamette Street. Come and join our grand opening. Sign up for freebies and special prizes. And have a grand opening of your own. ❖ 1030 Willamette Street 342-1762 Hours Mon Fri 1O-6/Thurs 10 7/Sat 10-5 Portland - Seattle - Eugene IN on; VVs e S । FUTON (() IV D A NN Y ■BUSINESS Sundance Natural Food Store A New Age Enterprise by Miriam Freifeld Reinhart When Gavin McComas bought in to Sundance in 1983, the store was on the verge of bankruptcy, vendors had not been paid, the rent was overdue, and “they were not doing much busi ness, there was not much food on the shelves,” he said. Now, almost four years later, the store has been transformed. It has as good a selection of organic fresh pro duce and other organic food as any store in the United States. In addition, it offers commercial produce bought as locally as possible, wines, vita mins, natural body care products, an enormous selection of bulk grains, beans, flours and oils, bulk herbs, a well-rounded selection of dairy prod ucts, all sorts of packaged and bottled food products without preservatives and other peculiar chemicals, and alternative magazines and cookbooks. In addition, the people working in the store are both helpful and knowledge able about natural foods. Gavin has a degree in comparative literature and a personal interest in natural foods (he is a vegetarian), but had no real business experience before buying Sundance. He did sell vitamins and negative ion generators, and worked at the Growers Market and the now defunct Peoples Coop. But “it seemed like a job that needed do ing, and it looked like the right live lihood.” With an initial investment of $40,000 Gavin was able to pay off all the creditors, buy new shelves and display cases, increase the inventory and install new computerized book keeping and inventory systems. “We started doing some advertising and tried to regain the confidence of the community. Also prices had been too high. With all the good natural food stores in town, it is a competitive marketplace. We have a very well informed and intelligent customer base who know their foods and what they cost. It took a long time to re gain people’s confidence.” In Febru ary, 1986 the store started to break even and had a profit in 1986 of $36,600 on sales of $2.2 million. Last year’s profit went into more re modelling, increased inventory, higher salaries, and health insurance for the 12 full-time employees (there are 35 employees altogether). This year they are projecting a 15 percent increase in sales. However, “There are no hopes of getting rich. That is a major miscon ception—that just because we have a lot of volume and are so busy, we are making a lot of money. It is a lot of hard, complex work, with thousands of different products and dozens of different distributors. As the owner I cannot build it up, step back and take the profits. It is a labor of love for all of us—feeling good about the work we are doing, the service we are perform ing, the people we are working with.” The fresh produce department is the “crowning jewel” of the store. “The produce department is fanatical about putting out only the best, and doing it in a loving, caring way. They put heart, soul and body into that department.” Sundance tries as much as possible to buy from local growers and distributors. “I am shocked some times to see how much fresher our produce is than in the large super markets. Their produce is usually centrally warehoused. Our produce cannot help but be fresher because of the shorter chain of distribution.” There are not many natural food stores that carry as many quality wines as Sundance. Wine is a per sonal hobby of Gavin’s and there is no way “I can justify it. It would be much smarter in terms of dollar turn over to put in packaged foods,” he says. However, it can be justified as a good entree into the store for those people who are interested in quality wines but would not normally go in to a natural foods store. “I feel very idealistic about the natural foods busi ness, and I try to keep my messianic idealism in check. By having wine in the store people are exposed to natural foods who would not normally be ex posed.” Gavin tries to have as "fair and con scientious a workplace as possible. Whether we are selling auto parts or food, the workplace is where we spend most of our time and we should make it an enjoyable experience and value it as a social unit. We don’t have as many social units as we used to have. The family structure is not as strong as it once was. A lot of people look for and hopefully can find a sense of connectedness in the work place, and a caring, fair work environ ment.” As the store has grown busier, stress has become a major issue, es pecially for the cashiers during rush hours. People are encouraged to take breaks in addition to their regular breaks. “I want people to feel free to bail out any time they want.” In ad dition, a speaker was invited to talk about stress, and they have worked with a counselor to improve inter personal relations and communica tion, “so that we can appreciate one another and realize that differences can be mutually enhancing.” Now that the store has been re modeled and the day-to-day business is running relatively smoothly, Sun dance is doing more outreach. They recently sponsored a conference on food irradiation; they have a bulletin board and a research coordinator who deals with food-related issues; and they have started a newsletter in which they plan to have employee, customer and grower profiles and articles on food and health. They also continue to donate to various charitable, en vironmental and human rights causes. SXSbbSIR GAPB New Summer Menu • Light Bistro Dinners ($6-$8) • Hors d’oeuvres • Seasonal Salads • Cold Soups • Creative Pasta Dishes • Grilled Fish and Meats • Homemade Ice Cream Dine Outdoors in our Beautiful Grape Arbor. We feature the area's largest selection of Oregon wines—by the glass or by the bottle Serving meals until 10 p.m. Open until midnight 754 East 13th Avenue Eugene, Oregon 342-6963 Lunch at Provati’s Last week’s “Eat Beat” column in What’s Happening mentioned that pasta and salad lunches at the new Provati Ristorante, Oakway Mall, av erage about $8. Chef Paula Scharf called us to say that a good lunch can be had for as little as $5. A small salad served with another dish is only $1.25, and many full meal salads are from $3.50-$5.95. Sorry if we misled folks on that one. Car Care with a Conscience Audi • BMW Porsche •Volkswagen Alfa Romeo European Automotive Specialists 687-0040 1975 W 7th Avenue Eugene, Oregon 97402 Hours 8 a m to 5:30 p m | mni Fine Automotive Workmanship
