14
Wednesday,March3,2021
Columbia Gorge News
www.columbiagorgenews.com
GORGE LOCAL — IN BUSINESS
Herbal Revival flourishes in The Dalles
Mark Gibson
■ By Columbia
Gorge News
When Herbal Revival
Apothecary opened Oct. 1,
2019, owner Nicole Ryan
was off and running. Selling
a variety of all-natural and
herbal-infused products, the
new business landed on its
feet and Ryan was happily
connecting to a lot of local
residents. “We had lots of
events, including a witches
walk and a wine tasting. The
first four months were fun,”
she remembers.
The small shop, located in
downtown The Dalles, was
working out. “I filled this
room with all my favorite
things, and people seem
to like it,” she said. “People
come in, they like the smell.
They like the vibe.”
Then the pandemic hit,
and Oregon businesses of all
kinds shuttered their doors
to reduce transmission of the
COVID-19 virus.
And Ryan adapted. “We
never planned on having an
online store,” she said. With
the onset of the pandemic,
however, not selling online
was no longer an option. She
wasn’t sure the “vibe” of her
shop, with its herbal aromas
and complex displays, would
translate to an online store.
“It’s a different vibe and you
just can’t get that online,” she
said.
But while the online
store wasn’t the same, Ryan
was able to connect with
shoppers online and even
made deliveries for a while.
“That was really hard. I’m a
one-woman show here,” she
said.
She settled on curbside
pickups as the best compro-
mise. And as the pandemic
dragged on, with nervous
shoppers needing curbside
delivery or avoiding retail
stores altogether, Ryan came
up with a second pandem-
ic-proof strategy — monthly
subscription boxes, each
offering a variety of unique
and carefully integrated
Nobody is left out at Herbal Revival Apothecary, where herb infused
items of all sorts can be found, like those above designed for pets.
“Peoplecomein,theylike
thesmell.Theylikethe
vibe.”
Nicole Ryan
Owner, Herbal Revival
items from the store.
Those have also been suc-
cessful, Ryan said. “Everyone
gets the same box, with a
selection of some of my
newer products and limited
edition items,” she explained.
Each box contains $80 to $90
in products, with a subscrip-
tion cost of $50. People enjoy
the service — it’s like getting
a monthly box of surprises
— and often discover items
they continue to order, or gift
to their friends, she said.
Ryan's herbal items are
carefully sourced, she noted.
“I used to make my own;
now I sell products from
a few apothecaries and
supplement companies.
All the companies I use are
sustainable and organic. All
our products are herbally
infused."
In addition to herbal
products, she carries a full
selection of environmental-
ly-friendly cleaning products
as part of a “refill” station,
allowing reuse of dispensers.
These include hand and dish
soap, laundry detergent and
Herbal antivirals are among the
items available.
counter-top spray.
Although she has no pre-
vious year sales to compare
her current sales with, Ryan
said the store has done
pretty well in this first year.
“The community has been
so supportive, it makes me
feel like, ‘Hey, we’re going to
make it!’"
Herbal Revival Apothecary
can be found at 402 E. Second
St., The Dalles; online at
www.herbalrevivalapothe-
cary.com; and can be reached
at 541-769-0833.
Nicole Ryan, owner of Herbal Revival Apothecary in The Dalles, holds a box of items with a Valentine's
Day theme to be distributed as part of a monthly subscription service she began providing when the
pandemic limited in-store visits. The box included a crystal infused candle, rose bitters and chocolate
from Portland, a hand-stitched face mask, herbal infused soap and soap lift and more.
Flora Gibson photos
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