The Bulletin, Bend / Central Oregon News
FEBRUARY 09, 2010 08:43 PM
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Allyson Holt stands in her new Bend store, Allyson’s Kitchen, which is expected to open Thursday in The Old Mill District. The kitchen store, which will feature a deli, cooking school, wines, cheese and a large selection of utensils, is part of Central Oregon’s growing culinary community that supports fine dining and high-end cooking tools.
Devin Wagner / The Bulletin
Bend’s foodie landscape continues blooming
By Anna Sowa / The Bulletin
Published: February 17. 2008 4:00AM PSTBend resident Lisa Glickman says few things are better than dining alfresco on a Central Oregon deck overlooking the mountains or sage and juniper landscape. That kind of luxury at home requires the right tools, Glickman says, and Central Oregon is fast developing the resources for them.
For new residents like Glickman who have a taste for the finer foods and cooking instruments in life, the High Desert is flexing its culinary muscles and fueling what many consider a reputation for fine foods, dining and shopping on par with much larger cities.
“I think you’re drawing talent because of what a wonderful place it is to live,” says Glickman, who moved to Bend six months ago and is an admitted foodie, former personal chef and cooking instructor who’s starting her own personal chef business in Bend.
“My husband and I have been shopping for a new home and have seen some incredible kitchens,” she said. “People want to create that whole experience in their home.”
Central Oregon will soon welcome its newest addition to the foodie landscape — Allyson’s Kitchen, a culinary retailer that will open Thursday in The Old Mill District and will offer cooking classes. The Bend store is the start of what owners hope will be a chain of 10 kitchen stores spreading mainly throughout the Pacific Northwest.
The 5,000-square-foot space — plus a 1,400-square-foot mezzanine — joins existing independent kitchen retailers in Bend, including Millette’s Kitchen Store and Kitchen Complements, and big-box retailers Bed, Bath & Beyond, Linens & Things, and Macy’s.
Judging by the emergence of new restaurants in the area, the store will be a welcome addition to a town that appreciates the culinary arts, Glickman says.
Additionally, the Cascade Culinary Institute at Central Oregon Community College announced last year a $3.5 million campaign to build a new teaching facility and expand the program’s curriculum and faculty. The institute is banking on the High Desert’s community of high-end dining to attract more talent from in and out of the area.
Competing in a cooler environment
With national and local economic conditions cooling, however, two longtime store owners wonder how long the market can support these niche businesses.
“I think at some point, you reach saturation,” says Rudy Dory, owner of Newport Avenue Market in Bend and a member of the local food industry for 32 years.
Newport Market is a hybrid grocery and kitchenware store, Dory says. The store’s emphasis is food, but its kitchen products, including its Le Creuset line, sell well, he added.
“I think we’re getting close (to saturation),” he said, “especially if the economy remains as cruddy as the news tells us it is.”
Kitchen Complements owner Dianne Bernert is in her store’s 24th year in business. She says Bend’s growth is bringing new residents who demand larger chain stores found in more metropolitan areas.
“I just see the dollar being cut that much more,” Bernert said. “I don’t know, I just try to do my thing and hope my customers come in.”
Bernert’s small downtown store combats larger chains by specializing in unique products that larger kitchen stores don’t typically carry. But unlike larger stores, she doesn’t have the ability to buy and store huge numbers of products.
“One more huge store, I don’t know,” Bernert said, admitting she hadn’t seen Allyson’s Kitchen yet. “But we will see.”
New to the business
Allyson’s Kitchen is the creation of Allyson and Steve Holt, who quit their Southern California advertising and marketing jobs in 2000 to open the first Allyson’s Kitchen in Ashland, a town which also has a thriving restaurant scene.
“We turned our avocation into vocation,” Allyson Holt said.
Neither had professional cooking experience, but the Holts figured their love of entertaining and all things food coupled with a background in business would lead to success.
Two years ago, they decided to expand their venture beyond Ashland, starting with Bend. Holt and Old Mill officials said the mall developers first planned on adding national kitchen retailer Williams-Sonoma to the mall, but instead chose Allyson’s Kitchen due to its regional connection and business model.
In opening new stores, Holt’s criteria is an upper-income demographic market with around 200,000 people within a 15-mile radius and no major competitors — such as Williams-Sonoma and Sur La Table — within that geographic parameter, Holt said.
Bend’s high per-capita number of upper-end restaurants made it a top contender, she said.
“Obviously, there is a huge interest in food here,” she said. “And the seasonal demographic is geared toward entertainment, including dining.”
Even in difficult economic times, Holt said, her Ashland store has thrived. She believes Bend will be no different.
“People are eating out less, so they want their food experiences to be first-class at home,” she said. “It’s about affordable luxury.”
Additionally, nice kitchen products will last years, she said.
Holt’s merchandise ranges in cost from a 99-cent pan scraper to a $3,000 coffeemaker. She’s also stocking 150 to 200 different cheeses cut to order, a freezer full of gourmet-to-go meals like made-from-scratch lasagna, chicken pot pie, enchiladas and soups. The store has its own wine room that holds at least 2,400 bottles of wine. Upstairs, on the mezzanine, cooking classes will be held in Holt’s test kitchen.
Thursday afternoon, employees hurried to unpack dozens of boxes holding kitchen supplies. Aside from kitchenware, Holt is stocking unique foodstuffs like aged balsamic vinegar, olive oils and special ingredients including saffron and smoked paprika.
Consumers like Glickman say they are willing to pay for quality products.
“There are always more gadgets I can use,” Glickman said, adding that her family will be traveling to New York City for spring break. Once there, Glickman is excited to go to the legendary Chelsea Market, a large enclosed shopping area where shoppers can find gourmet fare like truffle paste, Italian farro and other specialty items difficult to locate in most grocery stores.
“I’ll get things in my travels or buy things online,” Glickman said as she drove last week to the Redmond Smokehouse, a meat store. However, she added, Central Oregon has surprisingly good food options.
“If I’m driving out to Redmond for jerky, you know we’re not doing bad” as a region, Glickman said.
‘A whole range of cooking curriculum’
Bend residents Jake and Ginger Aguirre scouted Central Oregon’s culinary scene before buying Millette’s Kitchen store on Northwest Newport Avenue, across the street from Newport Avenue Market, last June. The former owners had the store for nearly 30 years and were ready to retire when the couple took over. In April, the Aguirres will rename it Ginger’s Kitchenware, said co-owner Jake Aguirre.
Remaining true to the store’s core kitchen products, including high-end coffee systems that can top $3,000, Aguirre says he’s also added new products, such as stoneware from Italy. Aguirre also is hoping to start cooking classes.
“I think the demographics (of Central Oregon) supports a high-end gourmet store,” Aguirre said. “With growth and the population of folks coming from major metropolitan areas, more people are looking at cooking beyond a hobby.”
Aguirre says Central Oregonians have an appreciation for changes in the culinary arts. Many are nonprofessional cooks seeking different flavor profiles and are moving beyond traditional food preparation in their own homes, he says.
“I think that’s part of the success in the restaurant industry,” Aguirre said. “People want to explore that in their own home.”
For his cooking school, Aguirre intends to appeal to midlevel cooks. But he sees a broad appetite in Central Oregon for cooking classes covering everything from simple lessons for everyday meals to highly technical preparations.
“There’s a whole range of cooking curriculum that will fit in Central Oregon,” he said.
Anna Sowa can be reached at 383-0304 or asowa@bendbulletin.com.
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