It’s a hard knock life out there for retailers. We’ve just heard the sad news – Allyson’s Kitchen, one of our favorite kitchen stores (and the best place to buy wine for Les Schwab summer concerts) is closing its Bend location this Friday. The original Allyson’s Kitchen, in Ashland, will remain open.
According to KTVZ, the financial burdens became too much for the owners. We’ll miss the wine club, wine tastings, wine tastings with our dogs, great selection of kitchen products and friendly staff. It’s a tough pill to swallow to see a specialty kitchen store unable to cut it in the Old Mill, and we hope a local shop will fill the space instead of another big box chain store. Join Allyson’s kitchen for their last wine tasting on Dec. 31. If there’s a better reason to start boozing early on NYE, we can’t think of one.
This article appears in Dec 23-29, 2010.
MAKE LOCAL JOURNALISM HAPPEN
Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license.
Why are people always going to the “big chain box store” commentary as if they are the devil? If the local store would arrange their business plans so that they were more affordable, it would be easier to buy local. MAKE LOCAL CHEAP and I will MAKE LOCAL HABIT. Until then, I can’t afford something at LOCAL STORE for $80 when the exact same thing is available at the evil “BOX STORE” for half the price.
This town would be much better off if they would get off their elitist soap boxes and understand how the world works.
I agree with KM. Obviously we are all sad for the owners of Allyson’s kitchen but that is no reason to vilify companies that started small at some point too and became large and successful because they are good at what they do.
Exactly!
I have to agree with KM above. I’m all for supporting Local. But in this economy, when I’m thankful every day to still have my job, buying Local is a bad Habit to have.
KM, CH, Lia and the rest of the town with this attitude clearly don’t understand the big picture.
Prevailing market prices simply are what they are. You should never pay more for a barrel of apples than you have to. Just be sure you are comparing apples to apples.
In the kitchen store world, I am sure there are many types of bottle openers. Ones that sell for $1.99 that are made of pot metals and of course the ones that are $49.99 are stainless steel with monogrammed mahogany handle. Both will open the bottle but one will do it with a flair for the lucky bloke with their initials on the handle.
These are not equal apples albeit they are both apples.
How about a plate of pasta from JohnnyOlives? Its noodles. Its tomatoes. Its herbs and spices. Its. $14.99
If you buy it from JohnnyOlives, about $4.00 stays in Bend and about $10.99 takes flight to land in JohnnyTown… wherever that may be.
If you buy it from BendPastaBar, about $12.00 will stay in Bend. Those dollars, my dear CH, Lia and KM are the dollars that pay YOUR wages.
How about a coffee from CoffeeMart? Its milk. Its coffee. Its Chai. Its muffins. Its only $3.50.
If you buy it from CoffeeMart, about $1.00 (28%) stays in Bend. the balance ships off to CoffeeVille… wherever that may be. Based on the CoffeeMart average store sales of about $600,000 for each retail store (ten units in the Bend area) that means that $4,320,000 goes away.
If you buy it from BendIndieCoffee (roasting their own coffee), and given the same revenue stream, that $4,320,000 would stay in Bend. It would pay your wages. It would pay your neighbors wages. It would pay your friends wages. It would be your year-end bonus.
The above is just from a coffee purchase… what if all of Bend chose to buy everything local? The damn economy in Bend would be on fire! We would be a national success story. We would have solved our own economy without doing anything different other than choosing to spend on local BEND businesses rather than allowing robber-barron stores to take our money back to their coffers in TheirTown.
CH et al, if you are employed by any company in Bend, it’s likely your wages are paid by folks who earn their money in Bend. The more you choose to send out of Bend, the fewer people can buy from the company you work for. Your job then is on shaky ground. Its as simple as that.
Comparing apples to apples, pasta to pasta and lattes to lattes is an easy task. If there is a local choice, take it but NEVER pay more for the same product.
If there is a price gap, consider paying more for self serving reasons… Consider that 10% price spread may actually allow you to keep your job. It may allow your significant other to keep their job.
Taking the selfish approach of “What do I get?” or “How much money can I save?” is a slippery slope. One can take this position until its all BoxMart world and we all make $8.67 per hour. So ask yourself. Is being a greeter at BoxMart in your future or is supporting local a tune you can at least hum? Beware, the lyrics of the second verse can take a while to learn.
The facts are irrefutable. A small towns success thrives when a community rallies behind its independent and competent businesses rather than doing the Lemming Shuffle to a homogenized life and a collapsed local culture.
Just ask any of your neighbors who own a business with a BoxMart competitor. The’ll enlighten you.
I have to say you are all wrong. You have your eyes wide shut. There is hardly anything you can buy there that the box store even stocks much less at half price. The products last much longer and at twice the price they last 4 times longer or more so they are half the price of the box store. It is like so many of you that go into a local store to find something unique and then complain about the proce but you thank them for having what you need. Those items do noy keep the door open. Once the few box store control the market your cost will go up. Support local keeps your local taxes down and increas the money that stays here and helps all of us the ability to earn more.
I agree with the above. Any business renting in the old mill is going to be $$$. People have these dreams that, since Bend has many top $$$ retirees, that opening up a shop in the old mill or downtown, or anywhere for that matter, they can charge top dollar when it is half the price at a box store. People please…this is not Beverly Hills…the 80% of Bend residence are not $$$ retirees…they are box store buyers and that’s how they survive.
So you want to get your picture in the Bend Magazine…who cares except you and your small little socialites. People who thrive on bragging about going to a small, fancy store to buy a $50 wine opener and the owners of these stores (all friends I’m sure) need not to whine when “the economy” made them close their store. It’s not always the economy, it’s idiots like you who open the store for your friends!
I also agree. Most of us who live here go to the larger stores for our everyday needs, and we look for sales, specials, and better prices. It’s a matter of survival. The small trendy stores at the Old Mill and downtown seem to cater to tourists who shop for the more unique items as part of their vacation and don’t seem to mind the prices. How many stores does it take to be a dreaded chain anyway? Two? Allyson’s Kitchen is also in Ashland.
Really?
Big Box Stores simply get their goods for cheap because they buy over seas where (yep, here it comes…) people work for dirt pay to make cheap pieces of plastic so that you can feel good about buying more stuff, that you will eventually toss (we are a disposable society now), thus creating more waste in the environment (in more ways than one, thank you).
Won’t even bother getting on the “support your neighbor” soapbox. If you dig deep, you know it already.
I buy locally and am happy to pay a bit higher prices because they are local. I can go back to the merchants and get issues solved immediately, warranty is easier, and my local stores actually give me breaks sometimes on the cost because they can cut the profit a bit for their frequent customers. Plus I know that more of my spent money is going to support the local workforce.
If I am in the market for something I have noticed that if you look to buy cheap that is what you get.(right, no brainer there)
Anyway sorry to hear that they are closing their doors, a nice friendly bunch that I hope will do well in future endeavors.
The bottom line is that the owner did very little to promote and advertise her business. And when she did advertise, she did so in the least effecient manner. “People shop where they are invited to shop”, and she did a very poor job of inviting people to her store. Also, she did not listen to her customers. They suggested certain products to carry and even suggested ways to make her eatery more popular. She did not listen to her customers………..and that’s just wrong. This store was a good example for someone who wants to go into business for themselves……….just do the opposite of Allyson’s Kitchen, and you’re sure to be successful.
Not to mention that service at most, if not all, box stores are terrible. If you walk into a specialty retailer, you will get specialized service, and they can answer any questions and put you into the item that suits your needs, which may not have been the item you originally thought you needed. A box store? The guy working in the kitchen section this week may have been in auto parts last week. It always baffles me when people purchase crap bicycles at Wally World and bring them into a bike shop to get them fixed, because 1) the bike was a piece of junk to begin with, and 2) it was assembled improperly, doesn’t function correctly, and isn’t safe to ride.
Sure, box stores are great when you need commodities such as cleaning supplies and paper. But, why shop at a poorly staffed box store when you need a specialty item? Why eat at a chain restaurant when the food is no cheaper (anyone been to Applebees lately? Yikes!) and tastes like cardboard compared to a local place? Why buy coffee from some chain that puts out burned, over-roasted crap when you can get it locally (and cheaper!) from an artisan roaster here in Bend?
I don’t buy the “chains are better and cheaper argument” at all. It my experience, they are often not worth the hassle, and in the case of food, totally unacceptable (in all but a few cases). Why the heck would anyone go to Applebees when they could get a much better meal at Kebaba, for the same price or less? Of course, there isn’t enough flair on the wall at Kebaba, perhaps that is the problem….
Just be glad SOMETHING will fill that location’s spot in the Old Mill. An empty commercial location is MUCH worse than a chain store.
I would like to agree with the buy local crowd, but unfortunately I can see both sides of the picture, we all need to make ends meet and those of us who have kids and family who are out of work and or just underemployed, need to get maximum bang for our hard earned money!! I have shopped both the box stores and at the local owned stores and there is a big differanc in price. The just spend a few dollars more to support the local guy is a nice thought , but reality is that the products and i am talking about,comparable items and brands,are more than just a few dollars more, try buying carhart gear local, it will cost 20-30 dollars more local and thats almost 1/3 of the cost, so the buy local idea is a good idea but we need to do as someone else said make it affordable and we will buy local, not cheaper but in the same region would be nice!!
With purchases being made at big box stores, franchises online and only perishables locally ie.. food. Choices will be less and less. Towns in the future will have basic necessities. It will look nothing like we see now. ie.. Amazon replaces B&N Bookseller. Hope all you Shoppers will then be proud.
I have been to the store a few times in the past and almost threw up at the prices. So when I heard they were going out of business I decided that I would check out the final clearance nothing new, the signs that were posted up on the windows touted up to 75% off no such thing inside. Anyway I asked one of the clerks about a small item and if it was on sale she said no it’s full price I now understand why they are going out of business. Good bye and good riddins start up in Carmel California you might have more success