THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2019 // 11
READERS’ CHOICE AWARDS
BEST GROCERY STORE
BEST DANCE STUDIO
ASTORIA ARTS
& MOVEMENT
CENTER
By KATHERINE LACAZE
Runner-up: Encore Dance
Studio, Warrenton
Honorable mention: Maddox
Dance Studio, Warrenton
T
Brenna Visser
In the produce section, employees of the Astoria Co-op celebrate being awarded Best
Grocery.
ASTORIA CO-OP
By BRENNA VISSER
Runner-up: Main St. Market, Warrenton
Honorable mention: Fred Meyer, Warrenton
W
hen Zetty Nemlowill heard
readers chose the Astoria
Co-Op for Best Grocery, the
co-op’s marketing director couldn’t help
but think of the future.
“I’m excited. We’ve been working so
hard on our new store, and I think a lot
of people recognize that since it’s in the
news. But there’s also the work we do
everyday in this 2,000 square-foot store,”
Thank you
FOR VOTING US
h
is
F
t
Bes
Bowpicker Fish & Chips
1634 Duane St., Astoria
503-791-2942
Zemlowill said. “The fact people are sup-
porting us here is important because we
couldn’t be taking this big leap without
their support.”
The Astoria Co-Op started in 1974 with
a vision to provide locally-sourced food to
the community. Zemlowill believes readers
chose the grocery because the staff genu-
inely care about the customers.
“We were started by local people who
wanted a store with good local food, and
we’re still doing that,” she said. “We put
people before profi ts. It’s a unique business
model people like in this day and age.” CW
!
s
p
i
& Ch
he Arts & Move-
ment Center in
downtown Asto-
ria is more than a dance
studio. It’s a place where
people can come to be
part of a community, to
express themselves, to feel
accepted, to grow.
“I’ve seen people’s
lives change in that ball-
room — their health
improves, their confi dence
grows, they make friends
and inspire others, all
within a supportive learn-
ing environment,” execu-
tive director and Astoria
City Councilor Jessamyn
Grace West said. “This
studio is community, a
community that has a right
to creative self-expression
and honoring a relation-
ship with the body.”
Founded in 2011, the
studio averages more than
20 classes and workshops
per week. The facility also
is home to more than 20
regular and guest instruc-
tors who teach Argen-
Thank you from
Denise & the girls at
Farmhouse Funk!
35408 Highway 101 Business • Astoria
503.325.4474
www.farmhousefunk.com
Dwight Caswell
ABOVE: Jessamyn Grace West leads a belly dancing class at
the Astoria Arts & Movement Center.
BELOW: Estelle Olivares (right) with the help of her sister
Celeste Olivares leads a couple of Argentine tango classes
each week at the Astoria Arts & Movement Center. The sisters
have been teaching tango on the coast for about four years.
tine tango, belly dance,
contemporary dance, tap,
modern dance, jazz, con-
tra dance, Zumba, fi tness,
yoga, theater, hip hop and
more.
In 2018, West and the
studio’s board president,
Andrea Mazzarella, pur-
chased the historic Odd
Fellows Building on 10th
Street that houses the stu-
dio on the second fl oor.
“It was time to take
action and secure our
space,” West said. CW
Katherine Lacaze