A Disoriented Seattleite Begs Downtown Bend Passersby to Tell Him About Local Businesses

I’m a true-blue Pacific Northwesterner, but I don’t hail from around here. My childhood memories lie on the opposite side of the Cascade Mountains and on the opposite side of the Columbia River from Bend, in a city famous for fresh fish, depression, dope and historically disappointing major league baseball.

Upon moving to Oregon’s sixth largest city, I needed to suss out some small businesses in town to patronize – besides the surviving Blockbuster that seems to draw tourists from Texas to Taiwan.

I could have turned to online guides, or sifted through social media influencer showcases that blow up cool spots faster than a bike pump can burst a tire.

But do you know who I trust more than social media influencers? Almost any given stranger on the street, that’s who. So I strolled Old Bend for a while, looking for real people to point me in the right direction.

Anthony Izzo

Though he was enjoying a glass of wine outside of The Good Drop Wine Shop (141 NW Minnesota Ave. #2719), Izzo came off as more of a java guy. He recommended Thump Coffee (25 NW Minnesota Ave.) and Sisters Coffee Company (450 SW Powerhouse Dr., Ste. 400), as well as the Box Factory mall (550 SW Industrial Way) for a variety of funky storefronts.

Cory Chavez

When I spoke to him, the affable Chavez must have been feeling hungry. I’m grateful for that, because he put me on to Aina Kauai Style Grill (1424 NE Cushing Dr.), a bomb-looking Hawaiian food truck parked at the OnTap food cart lot off Neff Road.

Lexy Hagen & Sierra Kincaid

I caught Hagen and Kincaid on their way to recently opened Asian pop culture store, Pika Pika (949 NW Bond St.). They suggested I visit Watershed Coffee Roasters (961 NW Brooks St.), formerly known as Looney Bean, to get a cup of joe. More of a tea person, I took note when they mentioned going to The People’s Apothecary (1841 NE Division St., Ste 150) for some pharmacognostic purchases.

Franklin Abbey

“Places come and go,” Abbey said about his favorite businesses in town. This friendly fellow likes Tactics Bend (933 NW Wall St.), the Central Oregon outpost of a Eugene-founded skate and snowboard retailer. But with such a bright-eyed, youthful attitude to the man, I don’t think I’d be shocked to find Abbey in Leapin’ Lizards Toy Co. (953 NW Wall St.) either.

John Abraham & Ashley Kehs

It took a bit of convincing to get Abraham to disclose his favorite thrift shops. I interrogated him until he gave up two Orchard District gems: Iron Horse Secondhand (632 NE 1st St.), based in Bend since 1972, and REgroup Thrift Store (424 NE Greenwood Ave.), which supports local hospice care, a spay and neuter program, and a family-focused charity. Kehs chimed in with Truffle Pig (934 NW Gasoline Alley), a cute boutique tucked away downtown.

Randal Seaton

When Bend native Seaton started talking excitedly about wax, I assumed he was referring to cannabis (must be the Seattle in me). In fact, he’s a hell of a snowboarder, and had nothing but positives to say about products from Bend-based Spiral Wax (online store only). Seaton called co-founder Tim Karpinski “a mad scientist” – an eco-friendly mad scientist, as Spiral avoids using harmful PFAs in its wax. If you paid attention to Franklin Abbey, you’ll know where to pick some up.

Editor’s Note: As a reader pointed out via email, Tactics Bend is no longer an Oregon business after its May acquisition by a Southern California company, Lakai, which itself was purchased in 2024 by Inversal, a private equity corporation. Nothing can remain pure in this world.

This article appears in the Source November 20, 2025.