|
|
|
|
|
|
THE BEE
COMMUNITY CLASSIFIEDS
THE BEE's "want ads" are called "Pamplin Community Classifieds".
An important innovation is that classified ads placed in THE BEE may also be available at the special Community Classifieds website, at the HotLink below!
In addition, Community Classifieds now offer the additional service of in-column photographs of vehicles and homes for sale. The photos can not only appear in THE BEE, but on the website as well.
Community Classifieds appear each month in THE BEE, and can also reach up to a half million additional readers by being published in any combination of the 24 other newspapers in the "Community Newspapers" group, including the weekly Clackamas Review, Oregon City News, Lake Oswego Review, and West Linn Tidings; the monthly Sherwood Gazette, and Southwest Community Connection; the twice-weekly Gresham Outlook and Portland Tribune; and the other newspapers in the group.
To get information or place your classified ad by phone, here's the number to call: 503/620-7355!
Now, click on the logo directly below, and read the Pamplin Media online "Community Classifieds"!
|
|
INNER SOUTHEAST PORTLAND'S
BUSINESS NEWS!
|
 |
| Myles de Bastion, owner of the new nonprofit “Sign Language Café” (formerly Woodstock Café), is also founder of CymaSpace, a nonprofit that makes arts and cultural events more accessible to the Deaf and hard-of-hearing community. The café welcomes coffee drinkers of all capabilities. (Courtesy photo) |
|
‘Sign language café’ opens in Woodstock
By EIZABETH USSHER GROFF
For THE BEE
What most recently was known as Woodstock Café, at the corner of S.E. 41st and Woodstock Boulevard, closed last year – and has been bought by the nonprofit organization CymaSpace.
The café is a turnkey business – keeping the former equipment and interior – and is opening as a “sign language café”, with the goal of creating bridges between the Deaf and Hearing communities.
Myles de Bastion, café owner and founder of the nonprofit in 2014, describes it as “dedicated to fostering inclusivity within the Deaf and hard of hearing community… It has enriched and strengthened outreach of our community through events, classes and technology, making arts, culture and media events more accessible.”
In further describing CymaSpace, he says, “The team at CymaSpace is a remarkable assembly of individuals with deep expertise in culture, arts, and technology. Their involvement in CymaSpace has been pivotal to our success and community impact.”
Describing the connection between CymaSpace and the café, de Bastion told THE BEE, “The café operates as a social enterprise under CymaSpace … Profits from the café will support our broader mission to make arts and cultural events more accessible to the Deaf and hard-of-hearing community.
“This café is not just a business; it’s a continuation of my lifelong commitment to building bridges between the deaf and the hearing worlds, ensuring that art, culture, and now, the simple pleasure of a café visit, are accessible to all.”
One of the CymaSpace team members – now the Café Manager – is André Gray, who has a rich background not only in the arts, but in the culinary world, which includes former ownership of his own restaurant, and experiences at such esteemed Portland establishments as Crema. Gray’s background skills are intended to help the café's daily operations run smoothly.
The coffee shop will start with eleven staff members and baristas, several of whom – including de Bastion and Gray – currently reside in Inner Southeast Portland. The initial seating capacity will be 30 inside, with an additional 20 seats available outdoors on bench tables and a patio that can accommodate a diverse range of social and cultural gatherings. For now, there will be pastries and grab-and-go items for sale too, in addition to Stumptown coffee. Baristas will receive training from Stumptown to ensure the high quality of the coffee.
Asked why Woodstock was chosen for this, de Bastion responded, “As a parent [of two], I am especially drawn to Woodstock’s family-friendly atmosphere – an essential component we wish to emphasize and expand within the café. Moreover, this neighborhood retains the quintessential charm of ‘old Portland’, a rare quality in an era in which many areas have transformed beyond recognition.
“Having been a part of this community for over a decade, I’ve witnessed first-hand its warmth and welcoming nature. Woodstock offers the perfect setting for our café, where our mission is to nurture connections, celebrate diverse cultures, and create a space where everyone feels at home.
“We are deeply committed to creating a welcoming space where everyone can enjoy the arts, culture, and great coffee. Being able to sign is not a requirement, but we hope that you’ll be intrigued enough to come and try and learn a few signs! Ultimately it is a safe space for all, no matter how you choose to communicate, we will accommodate all approaches!”
“We plan to open [with the name] ‘Woodstock Café’ and later rebrand, drawing on feedback and ideas from our sign language community, to better reflect our ‘Deaf cultural identity’.” The café’s grand opening in mid-May will begin with hours 7 a.m. until 4 pm, open Wednesdays through Sundays.”
To learn more about CymaSpace, go online – http://www.cymaspace.org; and if you are moved to donate towards the nonprofit business’ startup costs, go to – https://bit.ly/aslcafe.
|
 |
| Meet the management team at Woodstock BiMart, from left: Nicholas Blessinger, Store Manager; Jennifer Rushman, new Assistant Manager; and Angie Kuhnhausen, Second Assistant Manager. (Photo by Elizabeth Ussher Groff) |
|
BiMart’s history and evolution in Woodstock
By ELIZABETH USSHER GROFF
For THE BEE
This year BiMart, a regional chain of stores in Oregon, Idaho, and Washington, with headquarters in Eugene, is celebrating its 20th year of being “employee owned”. Since its founding in 1955 it has been owned by various companies, but it was eventually sold to its own employees on March 1st of 2004. That means that all employees earn shares of the company.
In 1996, the Woodstock Safeway store was still situated in the building now home to Woodstock’s BiMart. The extremely popular Woodstock Super Center store, or “Disco Mart” as it was later called, was in the building now completely occupied by Safeway. Over the years that store, owned by the Dieringer family, featured a series of grocery stores in the north end, and a variety department store in the south section, which offered jewelry, apparel, hardware, a post office substation, fabric, notions, ice cream, candy, greeting cards, cosmetics, and garden products – somewhat as Fred Meyer still does.
In late 1996 the Woodstock Neighborhood Association (WNA) learned that Safeway would move east across 44th Avenue into the Super Center property. The WNA became concerned that the neighborhood would lose the valued products and services offered in the Super Center once it closed to make way for Safeway.
In February of 1997 the WNA began discussions with Gene Dieringer of Dieringer Properties Inc., whose local neighborhood family had owned, and still does own, most of the two “super blocks” containing Safeway and BiMart.
Months passed, and Dieringer continued to tell the WNA that he was still looking for a “good fit” for the neighborhood. Then, in the summer of 1997 he announced that a BiMart store would be the new tenant in the old Safeway building. In September, invitations for the October 15th Grand Opening and Ribbon Cutting Ceremony for the new BiMart store went out.
Today a part of the Woodstock neighborhood for twenty-seven years, and celebrating its two decades of being employee owned, BiMart is welcoming a new staff member.
In February, Assistant Manager Nicole Anderson left Portland to work at BiMart in Vancouver, Washington, in order to live closer to family members. A month later, new Assistant Manager Jennifer Ruschman joined the team comprised of Store Manager Nicholas Blessinger and Second Assistant Manager Angela Kuhnhausen.
Ruschman told THE BEE, “My career started at the former Meadowland location [now closed; at 171st and Powell] just over 19 years ago. I have been at the Woodstock location for almost two months, and I absolutely love it. I love the fact that we are employee owned. As employee owners, we strive for excellent customer service, and take pride in what we do.”
Angie Kuhnhausen, who has been working for BiMart for two years, remarked, “I used to go to this location with my grandparents when it was a Safeway.”
And Store Manager Blessinger who started working for BiMart in Sandy in 2018 and then transferred to Woodstock a year later, added, “I love the large wooden arches in the store that are part of the old Safeway architecture of that era. And I instantly fell in love with the ‘vibe’ of the neighborhood and the community.”
Now neighbors are hoping that that “Woodstock vibe” he refers to remains, as other big changes continue to take place in the neighborhood.
|
 |
| Mark Ripkey – airline pilot, Oregon State graduate in Business Administration, and President of AHB. |
|
AHB talk to help you make good decisions, in business and life: J. Mark Ripkey, President of the Portland Association of Home Businesses, will be presenting on – and leading a discussion on – the age-old process of business analysis referred to as “SWOT”. That’s an acronym for “Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats”. Whether you are just starting your business, or have been operating one for years, a SWOT analysis is effective in determining how to boost your business into a profitable future. Following his presentation Ripkey will answer questions, and offer insights into how to apply these principles to your business. The meeting is open to anyone interested! The 30-year-old local “Association of Home Businesses” returns this month to SMILE Station in Sellwood, on the southeast corner of 13th and S.E. Tenino, a block south of Tacoma Street – on Thursday, May 16, 6-9 p.m. It includes time to network with others who work from home, an informal supper, and then the talk. $10 door charge. RSVP requested, for food planning, to – communications@ahboregon.org. Or, call 503/757-0014 to RSVP.
WCBA sets a May date for its Annual Meeting: The nonprofit Woodstock Community Business Association (which also serves the Brentwood-Darlington neighborhood’s businesses) recently found that circumstances prevented holding its 2024 annual meeting at the original date announced in THE BEE, and now has rescheduled it for Wednesday, May 8th at 6 p.m. at Woodstock Wine & Deli, on the southwest corner of Woodstock Boulevard and S.E. 41st. All business people from the Woodstock and Brentwood-Darlington neighborhoods are invited for networking; and the meeting also includes the annual Board Election for the WCBA – giving those present a chance to join the Board in an open seat and help set the direction of the business association. The featured speaker is Chris Gustafson of Woodstock’s All Saints Church – on “Getting to know our neighbors: What’s going on at the Woodstock Pantry?” Any resident of the two neighborhoods is also cordially invited to attend.
|
 |
| Kim and Francisco Salgado |
|
It’s “Lens to Listings” for Sellwood photographers: Kim Campbell, long known as a talented portrait photographer at Campbell Salgado Studio, has embarked on a new professional journey as a realtor. Joining forces with her husband, Francisco Salgado (a realtor for almost a decade), they have launched the “Campbell Salgado Real Estate Group” at Soldera Properties. They say that they are combining “our skills as artists, entrepreneurs, and home remodelers, with over 30 years of partnership, to bring a unique and insightful approach to the real estate market.” There is now a “Broker on Duty” sign at their distinctive office in the blue Craftsman on the corner of S.E. 16th and Tacoma Street in Sellwood – a corner marked by Francisco’s large red sculpture. While Kim continues to offer limited portrait photography services too, and makes her outdoor studio available for intimate events, their main focus now is on real estate. The number to call is 503/951-8547.
|
|
|
|
|
