November 2017
BUSINESS
THE COUNTRY STORE
(Continued from Page 4)
ness fair and the weekly Hillsdale
Farmer’s Market also take place but
Hillsdale wants to find other reasons
for customers to come and stay.
As for holiday time, the busi-
ness association hasn’t had holiday
themed event for quite some time.
No Santa, no holiday lights, no
events.
“The community didn’t support it
unlike Multnomah Village,” Baack
said.
Multnomah Village holds its an-
nual Multnomah Days each August,
a holiday gala the first weekend of
December, and trick or-treating on
Halloween. These and First Fridays
seem to cement Multnomah Village
as a destination place with traditions.
Mike Roach, co-chair of the Hills-
dale business association, said Hill-
sdale tried for about a year to hold
a Third Thursday. It was suspended
the following winter and the busi-
ness members could not generate the
energy to start it again in the spring.
“We just did not have enough re-
tailers or restaurants in Hillsdale to
make a go of it,” Roach said.
“It should be noted, as well, that
Hillsdale began its blueberry pan-
cake breakfast 41 years ago when
very few business districts had an-
nual events. Even Multnomah Days
had not happened for a number of
years until it was resumed in the
1980’s after many years of not hold-
ing one.”
Jill Crecraft, owner of Sip D’Vine,
attends the Hillsdale meetings.
She recounted how long it took
Multnomah to succeed with their
First Friday event.
“It took a lot of work and time,”
Crecraft said. “We had to have buy-in
from business members.” Merchants
incur a variety of extra costs such as
discounts, keeping employees later,
and providing wine and cheese and
other delicacies.
“We have our Sunday Farmers
Market,” Roach said. “It continues to
thrive and it will make for a vibrant
business district of which we can be
proud.”
Food Front grocery store director
shares insights
Food Front Cooperative Grocery in
Hillsdale has had a new store direc-
tor for eight months. Grace Morgan
took over the reins this past Febru-
ary from the previous manager, John
Conlan.
“I’ve been with the co-op since
2013,” Morgan said. “I was the meat
and seafood manager for the Hills-
dale store and our other location in
Northwest Portland.”
Morgan has been a veteran of
natural grocery stores since 2004. She
said that there are no new plans for
the Hillsdale store in the near future.
“Right now we are focusing as a
company on stabilizing sales at both
locations,” Morgan said. “We have
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had a lot of turnover
in the past year in
upper management.
In one year alone, the
store went through
four general manag-
ers alone.
“We were also re-
covering from the
strong hit in sales
after the opening of a
New Seasons market
just five blocks away
from the Northwest
location.”
Morgan said that
the company is focus-
ing on being a strong
community-involved
organization to dis-
tingush itself from
the competition.
Hillsdale Food
Front has been open
just shy of a decade
but the original Food
Front has been open Grace Morgan is store director of Food Front Grocery Co-op
for 45 years. Accord- in Hillsdale. (Post photo by Erik Vidstrand)
ing to Morgan, it was
the first co-op in Portland.
Farms, Hawley Ranch, and Wilder
“Although anyone can shop at our
Land & Sea.
stores, most of our sales are com-
Morgan is also a journeyman
prised of people who hold a share
butcher, and has occasionally held
and ‘own’ part of the co-op.”
private community workshops
Morgan said that she has a huge
in everything from whole carcass
passion for locally sourced food and
breakdown, at-home butchery, and
has been heavily involved in helping
sausage making.
many local ranchers get their busi-
Food Front is located at 6344 SW
nesses up and running and into the
Capitol Highway in the Hillsdale Shop-
Portland market. Some of the ranches
ping Center. The co-op is open daily from
she mentioned include Lan-Roc
8 a.m.to 9 p.m.