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Below is a list of WHERE to pick up a copy of the print edition of the News-Advertiser. This list is expanding every month as we add more cafes, restaurants, and stores across Columbia County. Also available every week at: thechronicleonline.com and thechiefnews.com • BEST WESTERN • CHUBBS CHEVRON • ENGSTROM CHEVRON • ICHABODS • ROAD RUNNER • JACKPOT 76 • WALMART
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This article was originally published in The Chronicle Vol. 128 October 23, 2019 edition
Changes to Riverfront District
Christine Menges/The Chronicle
Molly’s Market, recently opened on 1st Street in St. Helens. CHRISTINE MENGES chronicle2@countrymedia.net
Changes are coming to the Riverfront District. Sometimes referred to as “Old Town,” The Riverfront District is the vicinity from 7th Street to the river and is the city’s historic downtown area. The area has recently seen the expansion of businesses, as well as increased access to the waterfront. Molly’s Market There is also one business that is completely new: Molly’s Market Located at 290 S. 1st Street, the market is stocked with a lot of items one would find at a convenience store like water bottles, soda and snacks, but also items often found at a grocery store, like eggs, milk, bacon and bread. Co-owners Molly Matchak and Philip Stanton, brother and sister, opened up Molly’s Market on Oct. 5 in a “soft opening,” in order to get the feel of the business. The business will have a grand opening on Halloween, Oct. 31, Stanton said. Stanton, who owns some property in St. Helens, and operates Portland Properties, LLC, said he and his sister had been wanting to see a small-size market in St. Helens for a while, because he felt the city was sorely
lacking one. “Having been down here for ten years, [the lack of a market] drove me crazy,” Stanton said. Matchak fell in love with what she called the “St. Helens vibe,” and decided to move here. She said opening a market has always been a dream of hers, especially one that was modeled after a store located in her childhood hometown. When she was a child, Matchak said she and her family would often walk to a grocery store named “Rory’s” three blocks away from her house to buy a soda or a chocolate bar and came to know the owners of the grocery store very well. The market was more than just a place to buy goods for Matchak and Stanton, but a place for everyone in their town to feel a sense of community. “Everybody knew each other, it was just such a good feeling,” Matchak said. Stanton described Molly’s Market as one you would find back in a traditional small town that carries a little bit of everything. Their selection includes some food, but also a kitchen section where customers can purchase cleaning supplies, a health section for health-specific foods and even an upcoming toy section. The move-in process has taken about a year. Stanton
purchased a few properties in St. Helens a year and a half ago, including the buildings where Running Dogs Brewery and Plymouth Pub are located. Stanton was able to keep the space empty and waiting for Matchak before she could begin the move-in process. Six months ago, Matchak began moving refrigeration into the place and started to define her business model. Right now, the store occupies about 800 square feet, although Stanton estimates the business has room to expand to 1,500 square feet. Already, Matchak said she has felt a sense of community, support and gratitude from customers regarding her business. One person in particular has already made an impact. That person made a $1,000 donation to Matchak when she was first moving in. She told the story with tears in her eyes. One Wednesday morning, Matchak was in her market, working with her beer distributer and calculating inventory when she saw a man in his 70s or 80s walk in. He asked Matchak if she was the woman who ran the establishment, and she replied that she was. He then handed Matchak a check for $1,000. “He said recently he got a bill of health and said he wanted to support small busi-
nesses. I started to cry. He just smiled and said, ‘I just believe in small businesses and I hope you do well,’” Matchak said. That customer has been back to the store a few times since then, Matchak said, and she knows the customer and his wife on a first-name basis. It’s this sense of community that Matchak said she is hoping to build. “Just a sense of you can say, ‘Hey, Molly,’ and I can say, ‘Hey, Jim,’” Matchak said. “I want to know my community by name and they know I have the things they need.” Matchak said so far, she has felt a strong sense of gratitude from all of her customers who walk in her store. “I didn’t realize how much this place really needed a grocery store,” she said. Additional expansion There are three other businesses in the Riverfront District that are either expanding or have recently expanded: Running Dogs Brewery, Plymouth Pub and a new business to complement The Woodland Cottage Boutique. Stanton, who owns the buildings for both Running Dogs and Plymouth Pub, said Running Dogs, located at 291 S. 1st Street, has recently expanded their brewery to the
space that neighbors them, with plans to break down the wall between the spaces in about a year. Plymouth Pub, located at 292 S. 1st Street, will be adding breakfast to their menu in November, and owner Brad Rakes is looking at plans for expansion, probably into the area marked “Haunted House” behind the restaurant, according to Stanton. “He doesn’t have any concrete plan, but we know that it’s going to happen,” Stanton said. Courtney Allison, owner of The Woodland Cottage Boutique, located at 241 S. 1st Street, said she is planning to open a new business right next door in the near future, called The Great Northern Apothecary. According to Allison, the new business will sell bulk seasoning, spices and teas and will also have bulk fill stations available for customers. “We’ll try at some point to have olive oil on tap, locally grown honey, and just be a place for people to come together if they want to make spice blends, soap, and just be a miniature supply market for people,” Allison said. Allison said her business will open sometime around December or January. Riverfront access The final change coming to the Riverfront District is
increased access to the river itself. Last week, St. Helens Public Works crews removed approximately 350 feet of fencing and overgrown vegetation along the slope from the end of S. 1st Street to the basalt stairs that lead to S. 2nd Street. The removal of fencing and vegetation means that St. Helens residents can access Riverfront property more easily. Rachael Barry, Government of Affairs and Project Support Specialist said the timing of the project was done while keeping in mind other tasks for the Waterfront Redevelopment Project. “For several years, we’ve been engaged in planning and getting a really solid foundation,” Barry said. “We started looking around for projects we can achieve in a really fiscally responsible manner. We’ve got a lot of grants out there that are pending, and we decided it was time to start moving on things that were totally in our control.” Barry also said that more fences will be coming down soon, sometime in November while Spirit of Halloweentown cleanup gets underway. “We’re going to work closely with Public Works to remove fencing on Strand in November,” Barry said.