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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 28, 2021)
B1 THE ASTORIAN • SATURDAY, AUGUST 28, 2021 CONTACT US FOLLOW US Nikki Davidson ndavidson@dailyastorian.com facebook.com/ DailyAstorian THE ASTORIAN • SATURDAY, AUGUST 28, 2021 • B1 OUT OF THE BOX Nikki Davidson/The Astorian The Inferno Lounge is home to one of Cari Carter’s Magic Box vending machines. Astoria vending machine brings new life to discarded items By NIKKI DAVIDSON The Astorian ari Carter fi nds it diffi cult to turn down a deal, even if happens to be on an abandoned 600-pound vending machine. The Portland resident is a self-described hoarder, collector and reseller. She pounced on the chance to purchase the massive box from a friend’s bar for $100 a few years ago, having no idea it would soon take over her life. “I knew nothing about vending,” she said. “I just knew I now had a machine, and I was going to fi gure it out.” When she got her hands on the vend- ing machine, she decided to name it the Magic Box and fi lled it with brightly col- ored nostalgic mystery bags and risqué novelty items at the bar in Portland she was working at. The items are the kind Carter would often fi nd in bulk at garage and estate sales. “Just weird stuff ,” Carter said. “I’ve had cat pens, unicorn pens and just stuff that I think is bizarre and off - beat that’ll make somebody laugh. If I think it’s funny somebody else will usu- ally think it’s funny, too.” The Magic Box was so well received, she bought more vending machines. She now owns and operates three in Las Vegas, and 15 in Oregon, including one at the Inferno Lounge in Astoria. Rich Ewing owns the Inferno Lounge and knew Carter through mutual friends. When she mentioned her vending machine business in passing, he was instantly intrigued. “I thought wow, what a great idea. You better get one in here before I steal it,” Ewing chuckled. Carter gave Astoria’s fi rst Magic Box a makeover before transporting it here, painting the ’90s machine gold to match the lounge’s swanky interior. “It’s totally an icebreaker,” Ewing said. “There are customers who come in that may not have a lot of action at their table. They are looking through their phones, maybe young in their social stages and not confi dent about how to start conversations. All of the employees here mention the magic box because it breaks the ice. It just wakes people up.” Ewing said the machine has been especially helpful during the coronavi- rus pandemic. As the limited lounge staff struggles to entertain a surge of custom- ers without their usual live music from the DJ booth, the mystery bags and nov- elty items keep customers busy. “The Magic Box is entertainment all by itself,” Ewing said. “A bartender or somebody will turn them onto the Magic Box and they just take a peek, and all of the sudden the whole table starts laugh- ing and getting lively.” But turning old, abandoned machines into a relevant business today doesn’t come without challenges. A few months into her business, Carter realized vend- ing machines like the one she had orig- inally placed in Astoria before the pan- demic needed a major update. “What it boils down to, is when adults are having fun with other groups of adults these days, they don’t have cash on them,” Carter said. “They have credit cards on them. So I needed to bring out a vending machine that had a credit card C Carter fi lls her mystery bags with items she fi nds in bulk, like vintage trading cards. Nikki Davidson/The Astorian The Magic Box in the Inferno Lounge is stocked with mystery bags. CARI CARTER IS LOOKING TO EXPAND HER MACHINE’S INVENTORY. SHE’D LIKE TO INCLUDE NORTH COAST ARTISTS IN THE MAGIC BOX AT THE INFERNO. reader on it.” Last month she replaced the orig- inal Magic Box at the Inferno with a machine she had fi tted with a credit card reader. Her machines now off er a vari- ety of mystery bags, novelty items and small pieces from artists in Portland. She’d like to continue expanding and growing her business, but is hesitant to make many concrete plans. “Last year was horrible for me because all of my machines were shut down, all of them, because they’re all in bars,” Carter said. “So, I’m cautiously optimistic right now. I’m not being as 100% gusto with it just because I don’t Carter with her Magic Box inside the Inferno Lounge in Astoria. know if we’re going to get shut down again, or if I have bars that might close if we get shut down again.” At the moment, Carter is looking to expand her machine’s inventory. She’d like to include North Coast artists in the Magic Box at the Inferno, and is looking for artists who can produce 100 or more pieces that will be sold at price points under $20. “I want to include a lot of people and I want it to be a really good display of what’s available locally,” Car- ter said. She encourages interested local art- ists to contact her on her website, magic- boxvending.com.
