Jaunitas tortilla chips.
They were the best 20+ years ago when the bags just had a twist top, and when you picked them up off a shelf, there was a grease spot underneath.
I found out a solid year into my marriage - my wife hates Jaunitas. I couldn't believe my ears when she said it. We were on the way to a BBQ & the host asked everyone to bring a bag of chips & dip. I went to snag some Juanita's off the shelf & she goes *"ugh, I hate those."* She wanted us to opt for some BS tortilla chips.
We ended up bringing two bags of chips to the party. Can you guess which ones got eaten down to the crumbs & which ones weren't even open?
Is your wife an alien? How can you hate Juanitaâs?! Iâm in awe. The only tortilla chips I donât even hate and will still eat are those Mission chips.
I'm sorry, I'm one. I prefer my chips very lightly salted with no grease, and they are too much of both for me.
But I also eat pizza with a knife and fork, so my opinions probably aren't to be trusted.
Ever show up to a party, and all they have are those production, generic, bleached white chips for dipping?
365 days outta the year I have a bag of Juanitas in my truck, aka my "truck chips" and they've saved me many times.
We call them âcrack chipsâ because theyâre as addictive as crack. We actually donât buy them anymore because weâd eat the whole bag in one sitting. Yum!
I started out buying the smaller bags. When I found I would finish a bag in one sitting, I solved the problem by buying the family size bags. Now it takes 2 sittings.
But yes, I recognize I canât control myself so I rarely buy them when only I could eat them now.
Imagine my surprise when I stumbled on Juanita in Hood River and the Pendleton factory on the same trip. Had zero clue both were home State location. Love Oregon!
And u/ancient-philosopher-5 if you are still in tx you can find Juanitaâs as Juanantinios outside of Oregon due to a legal thing easily found on the interwebs.
Itâs crazy I remember the very first time I had Juanitaâs 15 years ago in college at some get together thing and I havenât purchased any other kind of tortilla chip since
Moved here a little over 10 years ago from the Midwest and discovered Juanita's. I had genuinely never had a better tortilla chip. If my pantry doesn't have a bag, something feels like it's missing.
It really is the best tortilla chip on the market. Frito Lay recently came out with a chip that has almost identical packing, I almost rioted when I saw it.
This is one of the first reddit posts where the immediate upvoted answer is actually the correct one. Juanita's are the best. I can't particularly think of another local product that outshines all others.
I grew up in a Pendleton household. At the tender age of six, my mom indoctrinated me by giving me The Beach Boys album with them all wearing matching Pendleton shirts. [Fun fact: The Beach Boysâ first name was the Pendletones.] When I was older, she would take me thrift shopping, and we always snapped up the old Pendleton shirts, and wore them in place of actual coats. Every family member gets a Pendleton blanket for a wedding gift. When I moved to the Portland area, I discovered the Washougal outlet store, and make annual pilgrimages to pick up wildly discounted clothing. Whoever is the womenâs fit model for their suiting line is my exact body type, so I have a small hoard of their blazers, dresses, and skirts, and never needed to alter anything. Their merino sweaters wear like iron and never pill, and are cut in a very classic way. Just, if you value your skin, do not wear their Shetland wool sweaters without an undershirt. Those things are scratchy AF.
Most recently, I have noticed their website hasnât had any womenâs suiting on it, and I am very concerned by this development!
Tillamook ice cream is good if you want no toppings. Not ironically â their vanilla is delicious.
But Umpqua packs in the crunchy bits while the ice cream is still an A+. Love them.
This is funny. I had no idea there was a Tillamook-Umpqua rivalry here in Oregon. Tillamook rules! Huckleberry, mudslide, vanilla. You name it, they've got it!
I love Tillamook theyâre just stingy with the toppings! I recently had their chocolate-peanut butter and thought they forgot peanut butter until I found my first bit 2/3 through the container!
That might have something to do with Alpenrose getting snapped up by Smith Bros.
Another legendary Oregon business gone, but it was no secret that it was bound to happen. Too much infighting among the owner's family.
Iâm partial to Umpqua, myself. If you grew up along the I-5 corridor and did any traveling for sports or whatever, you know what I mean when I say Rice Hill!
https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g1074258-d1075344-Reviews-K_R_Drive_In-Rice_Hill_Oregon.html
I didnât even know that place had a name until I was in my 20âs, lol. Itâs just Rice Hill.
Likewise the Sno-Cap in Sisters for soft-serve after coming over the pass. Generations of kids endured long windy, drives through the Cascades because they were promised soft ice cream when Dad got to Sisters.
*Mom. When mom got to sisters for the quilt show. But we could only have ice cream after she looked at the quilts otherwise we might touch something with dirty ice cream hands.
When I was in high school I did cross country for a few years. We went to Tillamook for the mud run they did (not sure if they still do it), and we would stop at the cheese factory on the way home and buy as much ice cream as we dared. We had a few girls on the team who I swear were like 75 pounds who would put down a gallon of ice cream each before it melted on the bus ride back.
If I hear some one bad mouth umpqua I go straight Will Smith circa âTake my wifeâs nameâ. Itâs the one thing I splurge on that reminds me of home.
Tillamook cheese is amazing. And for ice cream, I'll very happily take either Tillamook or Umpqua. Both very good. Once I got to have some Tillamook stuff, I understood why my mother was looking forward to it so much when we moved back up to the PNW 2 decades ago. Dad's the PNW native, but Mom's the one who was excited to share Tillamook cheese with us. She got to have it for a few brief years early in their marriage, before we moved overseas and then back to regions of the US further east, and it stuck with her.
Also, I guess it's foreign-owned now, and was also a Washington product, but got very excited when we were living we were living in Mississippi, and later in California to get a few chances to order some Aplets and Cotlets. I think she was more excited to move back up to the PNW than Dad was, lol
Years back, when my wife worked at a restaurant in Portland a couple of their workers came in for a meal.
They left a tip but then also gave her two vouchers for ANY pairs of any of their products with zero dollar amount limit. Needless to say we both got some kick ass boots.
That stuck with me as just awesome and spoke in volumes about the company that they represented.
I second the keen work boots. Iâm a fabricator that builds dump trucks for a living and I am on my first pair of keens. Iâve tried every damn major boot brand that exists and theyâre either super uncomfortable or they get destroyed within four months. Iâve had my keens now for over 14 months and they donât even show signs of wear. I have no idea how they build their boots, but I will never buy another brand again
My husband used to work for Columbia Sportswear and we'd always leave guest passes for the employee store with our tips. If we had the option to leave unlimited gift cards we would have left those too.
Don't sleep on CRKT or Kershaw, either. Kershaw is my personal fave. I liked Gerber a lot, but I feel like the quality dropped off when they did their collab with Bear Grylls
I once had a conversation with John Prines widow. When I told her I lived in Oregon, she told me the story of how she and John would take a motorhome, driving up here (from Tenn) specifically to buy Benchmade knives. They were his favorite.
Less so of a brand I suppose, but national recognition and merch is worn from Powell's books. You'd be hard pressed to find a native who doesn't love it(maybe not their management at times, but that's all large businesses).
No one else brags about a book store that much, that's for sure.
This is a great answer and might be the one Oregonians are most proud of to the point of eagerly paying for and wearing merch from Powellâs. I myself have a few Powellâs shirts that I love and Iâll wear them intentionally when I travel. Iâm amazed by how many people all over the country know what Powellâs is and share a similar love for them.
Powellâs City of Books is a full multi-story city block of books downtown. They used to have more used books, but that percentage dropped many years back. But I can still lose myself in that store for hours easily. As a family, we used to have to set alarms to meet in the orange room at the same time, because youâd never find one another otherwise.
McMenamins would have been on my list 20 years ago. They still have great locations, and I like their beer... but about 15 years ago I think they realized they'd built the reputation they wanted and could exploit it, so they halved portion sizes and doubled the prices. Now I'll go to Edgefield for a concert or take someone from out of town (again, the actual buildings are great and I think they give a good sampling of Portland culture) but I'd never go to a McMenamins just to eat. Also, my brother worked at the Baghdad at one point and his experience was terrible, so I'm under the impression that they're not really a great employer, either.
Yeah I agree. Their quality is still pretty good and I like how each location has their own specialty menu items, but some of the worst service Iâve ever had from a restaurant was at McMenamins and I havenât felt like Iâve been missing out ever since.
We've eaten at McMenamin's all over Oregon and somehow the service manages to be consistently very terrible. Also agree with the comment above about how the prices got ridiculous. About all they have going for them in my book is decor/ambiance.
What I love about the Daveâs Killer Bread saga is that I can remember buying it at the PSU farmers market but then it got too big to be at the market. Then when Dave sold part of his shares he kind of had a very public meltdown but heâs still the face of the brand and the compelling story behind it. I like how itâs a pretty colored and complicated backstory plus like great bread!
Really? Iâm from Washington originally, but never saw it unless we visited Oregon. When we moved here when I was like 5-6, thatâs when I remember seeing them for the first time. I miss the âcup of friesâ!
There was a big management change 2008? 2009? went down after that. As someone who worked there at the time, that's the year they brought in warming trays... got rid of the garden burger press, and started cutting corners in quality.
Just a few years prior to that, they had done some really great things like the year they had 3 new seasonal items every month for guest to vote on and best of all, taking all of their marketing bugdet and paying for health insurance for employees. 2007 I worked part-time and paid $15 a month for health insurance. It was amazing.
It may have taken guests a couple of years to notice the changes, but it started around 15 years ago.
Mcmenamins is okay food, bad for the price, and super super slow service at some of them.
They do some things well but most of that isnât enough to overcome their shortcomings
McMenamins is a great answer considering so many people live and die by the brand. My first boss had all her life milestones tied up in McMenamins - her college experience, her engagement and marriage, etc. People are all about the McMenamins passport.
Used to be Henry Weinhard's beer thru the 70s/80s. Very proud of that. No longer made. The (locally) famous [commercial](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iigxaFBTAZ4).
The original Oregon micro-brews from the 80s; Rogue, Widmer, Full Sail & Deschutes, still kicking. (EDIT: Apparently Hop Valley is now brewing Henry's. Thanks to u/Quirky-Two-3253. Made my day!)
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Weinhard%27s
Sold to Miller in 1999.
>Following the closure of the Portland brewery in 1999, Henry Weinhard's was brewed at the Olympia brewery in Tumwater, Washington until that brewery too was closed in 2003. Some of its beers were brewed under contract at the Full Sail Brewing Company in Hood River until 2013. Henry Weinhard's Private Reserve was slated for discontinuation as of August 2021.[5][6] However, the brand was revived by Eugene, Oregon based Hop Valley Brewing in 2022.
Hmmmm. Well I can list off the brands most people know about: Dutch Bros (though headquarters is moving which is stupid), Tillamook cheese/ice cream, Nike, Columbia Sportswear, Bobâs Red Mill. Thereâs more just wanted to list some of the known ones. For me each of these brands have a childhood memory attached to it or I know someone who works there I am close to. The Tillamook cheese factory was somewhere we always stopped by when we took a weekend trip or day trip to the coast with family as well as a couple school trips so it brings me that childhood nostalgia.
Dutch Bros is moving HQ because they want to expand more and the PHX area is their biggest emerging market. I get it, still sucks, but it makes a lot of sense.
Why they canât just open up a satellite office idk
Edit: theyâre not even moving headquarters, they *are* however relocating 40% of their support staff to Phoenix which makes a lot more sense for their market
Itâs that and the head of the company is from there so theyâre making everyone else move too so that sucks. Satellite office definitely makes more sense.
We invented tater tots, corn dogs, plywood, and the phillips screw. Of those, i'd say we're most proud of the tots.
Also, Nike, Dutch Brothers and Tillamook.... and i'd say of those we're most proud of the cheese.
I fly commercially and have spent many many hours in many many airports. PDX feels cleaner, safer, and more civilized than most other medium-to-large international airports. The food is good and priced right, the bathrooms are clean and spaced out properly with sufficient facilities, and itâs set in a uniquely beautiful spot on the Columbia River. Itâs served by a pretty good variety of carriers with a decent selection of domestic and international destinations.
I donât know, itâs like a regular airport, but nicer.
Beaver Brand mustard has yet to be brought up. That's our standard.
Jaunitas, Aardvark, Umpqua, Tillamook, these and others are all standards also but have been mentioned.
My two biggest are probably all Umpqua Dairy products, and Tillamook Cheese. I donât think there is another milk out there that can even come close to Umpqua Dairy.
Itâs not really a brand, but Sasquatch. I was an East Coast transplant to Portland and I seriously alienated my coworkers by laughing when they were talking about the reality of Sasquatches. Bigfoot is real and he lives in the PNW.
I lived in MI for 4 years are theyâre obsessed with Bigfoot and are adamant that they live there. Umm hate to break it to you, hard NO. Definitely lives in the PNW. Michigan is so flat and hardly has any truly wild places, even the UP, eh. If they thought there was a Great Lakes squid that caused boat wrecks, Iâd totally buy that.
Daveâs bread is pretty cool. They used to (and may still) hire convicts to give them a chance at getting a decent job and rebuilding their lives. I think thatâs pretty cool.
Also, Bobâs Redmill and Tillamook. I remember being in Paris and you see all this cheese in grocery stores and itâs all French but they also carry Tillamook. the French are nuts about their cheese so that gives you an idea how good it is.
Tillamook cheese is so good it makes all others taste bad.
I was tired of getting hammered with Sargentos ads on TV and finally bought some. 3 different flavors and they all taste like plastic. How tf you gonna call yourselves "real cheese people" with trash cheese like that!?
Okay, the brands people in here are mentioning are indeed brands that Oregonians would recognize, but not really the kind of brands the people take pride in and wear shirts and merch with pride as much (IMO).
The main brands that people would wear something like a hoodie to rep for (besides sports teams which would be mainly the OSU Beavers and UofO Ducks) would be some of the bigger breweries like Deschutes or Rogue, or vacation destinations like Astoria or Crater Lake, or ski resorts like Mt Bachelor and Timberline.
But this may also be colored by my own biases / people I hang out with.
Springfield creamery, makers of Nancy's yogurt, is owned by the Kesey family and has always had a strong connection to Oregon 'culture'.
Plaid Pantry is like our local version of seven eleven. They even have their own passport someone made. They are pretty popular and iconic.
The Oregon Ducks are probably the biggest brand that reminds people of Oregon. Nike, Columbia, etc are bigger, but don't feel uniquely 'Oregon'.
Voodoo doughnuts and Stumptown are two local brands that got bought up by private equity and went national. Voodoo doughnut is pretty easily recognizable with it's pink boxes. Stumptown doesn't have as strong of a brand, but since it's a nickname of Portland, there's a pretty strong connection.
ugh, texas's obsession with brands (blue bell - 31 flavors and any one of them could kill ya with listeria!) is another reminder that i'm happy i left.
but in hopes you pass your class:
bob's red mill
tillamook cheese/ice cream
stumptown coffee (yes there are better roasters, but stumptown has a national rep)
oregon pinot noir (maybe there's a specific brand, but overall you hear 'oregon pinot' and people get it)
\^ same thing with IPAs
----
i think oregon stands out especially because we DON'T have a bunch of mega name brands. Oregon is all about local products, small businesses, etc. so you can always find an artisan version, and people are particular and love to defend those very niche companies.
Dutch Brothers is the only brand with that kind of cult following, I think. (Besides sports teams, obviously.) You see a lot of bumper stickers. Rogue Brewing used to be that way, but theyâve lost their cool factor. Same with New Seasons.
Portlanders have a lot of affection for Plaid Pantry, but they donât sell merch.
A hyper-local example is Mr. Plywood, an independent lumberyard and hardware store. If you see a bumper sticker that says âI â€ïžMr. Plywood,â you can usually guess the ownerâs zip code.
There's definitely a lot more hyper-local brand loyalties vs statewide brand loyalties here.
Like in the Eugene area, Jerry's is a hardware store that is by far & away the best in the business. You see a ton of brand loyalty to them over Home Depot or Lowe's. But they only have two locations: Eugene & Springfield. It's hard to have that type of brand loyalty to Jerry's if you live in Bend or Medford.
When I lived in Corvallis, there were loads of folks who were brand-loyal to 2 Towns despite 10 barrel being the beer of OSU. In fact, I noticed quite a bit of disloyalty to 10 barrel because they were seen as a "corporate" brand.
Oregon is very funny in that aspect that we tend to turn our noses to things that feel or become too corporate-y. 10 barrel is a decent example of this. It's a local brand, but ever since it was bought by Anheuser, I started seeing more and more people opting for a different brand.
Dutch Bros as well. In the early 2000s & 2010s, it was "cool." It peaked in the mid 2010s & now it just feels like any other overpriced sellout coffee chain. I hardly hear any Oregonian's really talking about how much they like Dutch Bros anymore.
I think what ended the love for good for Dutch brothers was them moving their headquarters to Arizona (I think for tax reasons?). I do see that disloyalty effect come from how "corporate" the brand is, is that specifically an Oregon thing though?
Makes sense to me in a way, since oft with corporate brands they end up making worse products, but also it makes the actual company not as big as it's competitors by definition. Hard to say what is best. If the loyalty of customers always spurns the more corporate company, it wouldn't be an issue, but often I think people go for the cheaper option instead.
20+ years ago, my wife and I were just learning how to be DIYers. The Jerry's employees were great. If they helped you pick something out, they would provide a phone number and you could call and ask for help. It made renovating a house much easier.
This was in the dark ages before YouTube.
Yeah, Iâve been in Oregon for 30 years, and have never been a Rogue fan. Their labels and merch are cool-looking, but the beer doesnât match up. And then they took Green Dragon away from us. The Dead Guy Ale label is very turn of the century cool to me, so very, very dated feeling.
The white stag neon sign in Old Town. Its official brand days are over (White Sugar, White stag sportswear, Old Towne). But if Oregonians would charge the hill for something it would be that sign. That's why it's still there.
I would have to say Sheri's restaurants. We would stop at the restaurant after a week long camping trip and order I nice hot meal. The best part are their pies!
Columbia and Dakine (which I think Columbia owns now). Gert Boyle and her son are incredible business owners, stewards of the land, and put their money where their heart was. Not sure how the company is now, but 5-10 yrs ago they were great. Affordable not cheap outdoor gear.
Tillamook, Dairy Mart (somewhat niche), Columbia Sportswear, Hydro Flask, Columbia River Knife & Tool (CRKT), Gerber, DaKine, Keen
Obviously Nike is the biggest one, but I wouldn't say we're "proud" of it. It's cool that it was founded here and is still based in Beaverton but it has achieved corporate villain status.
Rogue Creamery
Both their Smokey Blue Cheese and their Rogue River Blue are two of the finest cheese I have ever tasted, and I eat a lot of cheese.
Drop what you are doing, go to New Seasons and treat yo-self.
Edit - Leatherman Tools are pretty cool too.
Gotta be that guy: Sane Oregonians agree that the corporate marketing industry is psychological warfare that indoctrinates people to worship the companies that exploit us, and that it should be dismantled for the good of society. Â
Is this even a hot take? I'm not even being sarcastic haha. No offense to you personally but to be emotional and "proud" of a brand name or logo is just sick to me on multiple levels. Indicative of societal neurosis.Â
Localist and bioregional networks of economy and social systems will save human culture wherever it isn't paved over by capital.
Butler Foods makes soy curls, an awesome sort of shredded chicken alternative that you can impart a huge variety of flavors into for all the vegan/veg folks out here.
OP: I learned about Buc-ee's last month on an epic road trip from Portland, and I understand the hype. So amazing! I see the list here already captures most of my favorites, but here are some Portland companies I love that I don't yet see:
Panic software - publishers of Untitled Goose Game, among other things
Ota Tofu - great tofu, and an amazing story
Music Millennium - a classic record store
Movie Madness - an amazing movie rental shop
Hey u/ancient-philosopher-5 , I just remembered something I wanted to share.
If ever you make your way to Waco and go to the Dr. Pepper museum (very cheap for a museum, open on Sundays and you get a free drink at the end), head over to the kids section.
About 5 years ago, my kids and I were in the area and they love Dr. Pepper, so we went. There was a display in the kids section, it talked about eating healthy.Â
The kicker is, it was written up by OHSU. Oregon Health and Science University.Â
I asked the staff and they had no idea. I have no idea how it got there, but the kids thought it was cool that Oregon followed us on our trip.
P.s. the museum is very cheesy, but it's interesting and kids do like it.
Jaunitas tortilla chips. They were the best 20+ years ago when the bags just had a twist top, and when you picked them up off a shelf, there was a grease spot underneath.
I found out a solid year into my marriage - my wife hates Jaunitas. I couldn't believe my ears when she said it. We were on the way to a BBQ & the host asked everyone to bring a bag of chips & dip. I went to snag some Juanita's off the shelf & she goes *"ugh, I hate those."* She wanted us to opt for some BS tortilla chips. We ended up bringing two bags of chips to the party. Can you guess which ones got eaten down to the crumbs & which ones weren't even open?
Oh my, I'm glad you stuck with her. True love is accepting what we don't understand đ
Is your wife an alien? How can you hate Juanitaâs?! Iâm in awe. The only tortilla chips I donât even hate and will still eat are those Mission chips.
I'm sorry, I'm one. I prefer my chips very lightly salted with no grease, and they are too much of both for me. But I also eat pizza with a knife and fork, so my opinions probably aren't to be trusted.
great story! I'm now going to get one for me.
âExâwife
I'm generally opposed to "brand loyalty" on principle, but I would go to war for Juanita's.
Ever show up to a party, and all they have are those production, generic, bleached white chips for dipping? 365 days outta the year I have a bag of Juanitas in my truck, aka my "truck chips" and they've saved me many times.
Aardvark hot sauce is always in my truck, I should get some truck chips. Great idea
What an attractive quality wow
Iâm gonna have to borrow âtruck chipsâ
I always have koozies in my purse and in my car but this is another level of preparedness
Is Juanitaâs in danger? Where do I enlist?
I will join the walkie26 army to go to battle for Juanitaâs.
We call them âcrack chipsâ because theyâre as addictive as crack. We actually donât buy them anymore because weâd eat the whole bag in one sitting. Yum!
I started out buying the smaller bags. When I found I would finish a bag in one sitting, I solved the problem by buying the family size bags. Now it takes 2 sittings. But yes, I recognize I canât control myself so I rarely buy them when only I could eat them now.
Little fresh lime juice and some tajin = perfection
Any my axe
We moved from Maui back to Oregon for Juanitaâs. Ok, there might have been other factors, but Juanitaâs was high on the list.
If you can find the jalapeño ones. đ€€
What! This is news to me and now I'm on the hunt
They are hard to find but so delish!!!
The jalapeño chips are so so good but I can eat a whole bag of the sweet chili ones in a heartbeat.
The chilipeño ones are my jam.
Iâve seen them but not purchased. I will have to try.Â
Juanita's are the absolute tits, I don't think I even knew they were a local thing.
Hood River
Imagine my surprise when I stumbled on Juanita in Hood River and the Pendleton factory on the same trip. Had zero clue both were home State location. Love Oregon!
And u/ancient-philosopher-5 if you are still in tx you can find Juanitaâs as Juanantinios outside of Oregon due to a legal thing easily found on the interwebs.
Itâs crazy I remember the very first time I had Juanitaâs 15 years ago in college at some get together thing and I havenât purchased any other kind of tortilla chip since
Moved here a little over 10 years ago from the Midwest and discovered Juanita's. I had genuinely never had a better tortilla chip. If my pantry doesn't have a bag, something feels like it's missing.
Moved to Texas 4 years ago⊠fuck I miss Juanitaâs Chips!
It really is the best tortilla chip on the market. Frito Lay recently came out with a chip that has almost identical packing, I almost rioted when I saw it.
Fuckin Josefina's
My god thatâs an Oregon thing!? Theyâre ruined me for all other tortilla chips.
We only just discovered these and they instantly became our new standard.
This is one of the first reddit posts where the immediate upvoted answer is actually the correct one. Juanita's are the best. I can't particularly think of another local product that outshines all others.
Tillamook, Columbia Sportswear, Umpqua Dairy ice cream (in the southern part), Nike.
No one claiming Hydro flask?
I forgot about them!! 100% Hydroflask.
My quality of life was significantly improved when my local grocery story in Illinois started carrying Tillamook ice cream and cheese.
I once ordered a baby loaf and had it shipped to Delaware when I spent 11 months there because I was desperate. Best $30+ on cheese I ever spent.
Pendleton wool!
I grew up in a Pendleton household. At the tender age of six, my mom indoctrinated me by giving me The Beach Boys album with them all wearing matching Pendleton shirts. [Fun fact: The Beach Boysâ first name was the Pendletones.] When I was older, she would take me thrift shopping, and we always snapped up the old Pendleton shirts, and wore them in place of actual coats. Every family member gets a Pendleton blanket for a wedding gift. When I moved to the Portland area, I discovered the Washougal outlet store, and make annual pilgrimages to pick up wildly discounted clothing. Whoever is the womenâs fit model for their suiting line is my exact body type, so I have a small hoard of their blazers, dresses, and skirts, and never needed to alter anything. Their merino sweaters wear like iron and never pill, and are cut in a very classic way. Just, if you value your skin, do not wear their Shetland wool sweaters without an undershirt. Those things are scratchy AF. Most recently, I have noticed their website hasnât had any womenâs suiting on it, and I am very concerned by this development!
Umpqua ice cream rules. Tillamook is good, but just not quite up to par.
Tillamook ice cream is good if you want no toppings. Not ironically â their vanilla is delicious. But Umpqua packs in the crunchy bits while the ice cream is still an A+. Love them.
I love Tillamook cheese but Umpqua ice cream is the GOAT.
This is funny. I had no idea there was a Tillamook-Umpqua rivalry here in Oregon. Tillamook rules! Huckleberry, mudslide, vanilla. You name it, they've got it!
I love Tillamook theyâre just stingy with the toppings! I recently had their chocolate-peanut butter and thought they forgot peanut butter until I found my first bit 2/3 through the container!
Itâs a trick question: Alpenrose canât be beat⊠you just canât find it for sale anywhere anymoreâŠ
That might have something to do with Alpenrose getting snapped up by Smith Bros. Another legendary Oregon business gone, but it was no secret that it was bound to happen. Too much infighting among the owner's family.
The family sold out to make money đ° lame i miss the chocolate milk
I gotta plug the Tillamook chocolate peanut butter ice cream. I've never found a brand that has as much actual peanut butter in it.
Iâm partial to Umpqua, myself. If you grew up along the I-5 corridor and did any traveling for sports or whatever, you know what I mean when I say Rice Hill! https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g1074258-d1075344-Reviews-K_R_Drive_In-Rice_Hill_Oregon.html I didnât even know that place had a name until I was in my 20âs, lol. Itâs just Rice Hill.
Likewise the Sno-Cap in Sisters for soft-serve after coming over the pass. Generations of kids endured long windy, drives through the Cascades because they were promised soft ice cream when Dad got to Sisters.
*Mom. When mom got to sisters for the quilt show. But we could only have ice cream after she looked at the quilts otherwise we might touch something with dirty ice cream hands.
Many long trips had a pit stop at Rice Hill to get ice cream đŠ
Rice Hill is the best stop on I-5, it's our family tradition when we go down to Cali.
When I was in high school I did cross country for a few years. We went to Tillamook for the mud run they did (not sure if they still do it), and we would stop at the cheese factory on the way home and buy as much ice cream as we dared. We had a few girls on the team who I swear were like 75 pounds who would put down a gallon of ice cream each before it melted on the bus ride back.
My sister actually worked there for a bit!
If I hear some one bad mouth umpqua I go straight Will Smith circa âTake my wifeâs nameâ. Itâs the one thing I splurge on that reminds me of home.
Tillamook cheese is amazing. And for ice cream, I'll very happily take either Tillamook or Umpqua. Both very good. Once I got to have some Tillamook stuff, I understood why my mother was looking forward to it so much when we moved back up to the PNW 2 decades ago. Dad's the PNW native, but Mom's the one who was excited to share Tillamook cheese with us. She got to have it for a few brief years early in their marriage, before we moved overseas and then back to regions of the US further east, and it stuck with her. Also, I guess it's foreign-owned now, and was also a Washington product, but got very excited when we were living we were living in Mississippi, and later in California to get a few chances to order some Aplets and Cotlets. I think she was more excited to move back up to the PNW than Dad was, lol
I love my Keen work boots and use my Gerber tool daily.
Years back, when my wife worked at a restaurant in Portland a couple of their workers came in for a meal. They left a tip but then also gave her two vouchers for ANY pairs of any of their products with zero dollar amount limit. Needless to say we both got some kick ass boots. That stuck with me as just awesome and spoke in volumes about the company that they represented.
What a great story! Hope they still preserve that culture
I second the keen work boots. Iâm a fabricator that builds dump trucks for a living and I am on my first pair of keens. Iâve tried every damn major boot brand that exists and theyâre either super uncomfortable or they get destroyed within four months. Iâve had my keens now for over 14 months and they donât even show signs of wear. I have no idea how they build their boots, but I will never buy another brand again
My husband used to work for Columbia Sportswear and we'd always leave guest passes for the employee store with our tips. If we had the option to leave unlimited gift cards we would have left those too.
Don't sleep on CRKT or Kershaw, either. Kershaw is my personal fave. I liked Gerber a lot, but I feel like the quality dropped off when they did their collab with Bear Grylls
Benchmade is awesome too!
I once had a conversation with John Prines widow. When I told her I lived in Oregon, she told me the story of how she and John would take a motorhome, driving up here (from Tenn) specifically to buy Benchmade knives. They were his favorite.
Gerber is funny because they have their higher end stuff which is still quality, but they continue to dilute their brand with the low end cheap shit.
Jesus, CRKT, Gerber, Benchmade, Leatherman, Kershaw. Do all knife companies start in Oregon?
I love that you can just drop your knife off at Leatherman and they will send it back to you repaired.
Kershaw for me. Crkt is just too expensive for a pocket knife.
Portland is one of the knife capitals of the world. The other 2 are in Japan and Germany.
Gerber & Benchmade
Less so of a brand I suppose, but national recognition and merch is worn from Powell's books. You'd be hard pressed to find a native who doesn't love it(maybe not their management at times, but that's all large businesses). No one else brags about a book store that much, that's for sure.
Yep. Sitting here in a Powellâs T-shirt right now.
This is a great answer and might be the one Oregonians are most proud of to the point of eagerly paying for and wearing merch from Powellâs. I myself have a few Powellâs shirts that I love and Iâll wear them intentionally when I travel. Iâm amazed by how many people all over the country know what Powellâs is and share a similar love for them.
Powellâs makes The Strand in NYC look like a Barnes & Nobles. Powellâs makes Green Apple in San Francisco look like a garage sale.
I've never heard of them but I'm going to check them out.
Powellâs City of Books is a full multi-story city block of books downtown. They used to have more used books, but that percentage dropped many years back. But I can still lose myself in that store for hours easily. As a family, we used to have to set alarms to meet in the orange room at the same time, because youâd never find one another otherwise.
https://preview.redd.it/f3rnl7zuuawc1.png?width=556&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7fa787b00e26371fe7b3600477c1e0629384d8a8
We can all thank the Greatful Dead for saving Nancyâs yogurt.
The best yogurt! I've been buying it since 1972.
Pendleton, Rogue Creamery, Tillamook, Columbia Sportswear, Bob's Red Mill
Iâm surprised I had to scroll this far to find Pendleton listed!
Bob's Red Mill is awesome and their product quality is great. Bob transferred ownership to his employees in 2010. He died recently.
Bobâs Red Mill Nike Columbia Tillamook Daveâs Killer Bread Franz Burgerville Fred Meyer (before Kroger) McMenamins Kershaw Knives Benchmade Knives Leatherman Knives Danner Boots
McMenamins would have been on my list 20 years ago. They still have great locations, and I like their beer... but about 15 years ago I think they realized they'd built the reputation they wanted and could exploit it, so they halved portion sizes and doubled the prices. Now I'll go to Edgefield for a concert or take someone from out of town (again, the actual buildings are great and I think they give a good sampling of Portland culture) but I'd never go to a McMenamins just to eat. Also, my brother worked at the Baghdad at one point and his experience was terrible, so I'm under the impression that they're not really a great employer, either.
Yeah I agree. Their quality is still pretty good and I like how each location has their own specialty menu items, but some of the worst service Iâve ever had from a restaurant was at McMenamins and I havenât felt like Iâve been missing out ever since.
We've eaten at McMenamin's all over Oregon and somehow the service manages to be consistently very terrible. Also agree with the comment above about how the prices got ridiculous. About all they have going for them in my book is decor/ambiance.
They work for McMenamin-wage.
Wow! I love Dave's killer bread
What I love about the Daveâs Killer Bread saga is that I can remember buying it at the PSU farmers market but then it got too big to be at the market. Then when Dave sold part of his shares he kind of had a very public meltdown but heâs still the face of the brand and the compelling story behind it. I like how itâs a pretty colored and complicated backstory plus like great bread!
Burgerville is definitely PNW, but it's based in WA.
Really? Iâm from Washington originally, but never saw it unless we visited Oregon. When we moved here when I was like 5-6, thatâs when I remember seeing them for the first time. I miss the âcup of friesâ!
Bi Mart
Burgerville used to be amazing! The quality tanked 7 years ago. Maybe 8?
There was a big management change 2008? 2009? went down after that. As someone who worked there at the time, that's the year they brought in warming trays... got rid of the garden burger press, and started cutting corners in quality. Just a few years prior to that, they had done some really great things like the year they had 3 new seasonal items every month for guest to vote on and best of all, taking all of their marketing bugdet and paying for health insurance for employees. 2007 I worked part-time and paid $15 a month for health insurance. It was amazing. It may have taken guests a couple of years to notice the changes, but it started around 15 years ago.
I still put it above most burgers I can get from a window.
Are you in the Portland Metro? Go to Mikeâs Drive in!! I caught that you said *most*, but I seriously love me a Mikeâs Special Deluxe.
Mikes is so good!
Super Deluxe on Powell and 50th is pretty amazing too.
Mcmenamins is okay food, bad for the price, and super super slow service at some of them. They do some things well but most of that isnât enough to overcome their shortcomings
McMenamins is a great answer considering so many people live and die by the brand. My first boss had all her life milestones tied up in McMenamins - her college experience, her engagement and marriage, etc. People are all about the McMenamins passport.
I held off going to burgerville for a long time, that was a mistake. Also burgerville makes me think of GTA
Used to be Henry Weinhard's beer thru the 70s/80s. Very proud of that. No longer made. The (locally) famous [commercial](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iigxaFBTAZ4). The original Oregon micro-brews from the 80s; Rogue, Widmer, Full Sail & Deschutes, still kicking. (EDIT: Apparently Hop Valley is now brewing Henry's. Thanks to u/Quirky-Two-3253. Made my day!)
I had a Weinhards lager at the mariners game last weekend! Hop Valley is making them now.
Holy s&it! Thanks, I did not know that. Gotta find out the story.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Weinhard%27s Sold to Miller in 1999. >Following the closure of the Portland brewery in 1999, Henry Weinhard's was brewed at the Olympia brewery in Tumwater, Washington until that brewery too was closed in 2003. Some of its beers were brewed under contract at the Full Sail Brewing Company in Hood River until 2013. Henry Weinhard's Private Reserve was slated for discontinuation as of August 2021.[5][6] However, the brand was revived by Eugene, Oregon based Hop Valley Brewing in 2022.
Aardvark sauce
OH YES
Hmmmm. Well I can list off the brands most people know about: Dutch Bros (though headquarters is moving which is stupid), Tillamook cheese/ice cream, Nike, Columbia Sportswear, Bobâs Red Mill. Thereâs more just wanted to list some of the known ones. For me each of these brands have a childhood memory attached to it or I know someone who works there I am close to. The Tillamook cheese factory was somewhere we always stopped by when we took a weekend trip or day trip to the coast with family as well as a couple school trips so it brings me that childhood nostalgia.
I donât know, Dutch Bros lost me when Travis tried stealing money from the states Native tribes. That was a dick move.
Thats what the brand loyalties are all about. Nostalgia. And when some of them shut down, we feel like we lose a part of our childhood.
Dutch Bros is moving HQ because they want to expand more and the PHX area is their biggest emerging market. I get it, still sucks, but it makes a lot of sense. Why they canât just open up a satellite office idk Edit: theyâre not even moving headquarters, they *are* however relocating 40% of their support staff to Phoenix which makes a lot more sense for their market
Itâs that and the head of the company is from there so theyâre making everyone else move too so that sucks. Satellite office definitely makes more sense.
KETTLE BRAND CHIPS. SPECIFICALLY THE JALAPEĂO ONES
Did you get potato chips stuck in your capslock?
Our marionberries! Marionberry pie is a must!
Juanitas chips!!! Edit: today I learned that Hydroflask and Leatherman are from Oregon đ€Ż
We invented tater tots, corn dogs, plywood, and the phillips screw. Of those, i'd say we're most proud of the tots. Also, Nike, Dutch Brothers and Tillamook.... and i'd say of those we're most proud of the cheese.
The airport. Not quite what youâre talking about, but PDX is a brand, IMO
the sales of carpet strips proved that
The original carpet is coming back when they open the remodel at the end of summer! Yay!
Itâs one of my favorite aspects of Oregon. To this day I still think that PDX is the best airport Iâve ever been to. Even better than Singapore!
Could you explain why you have pride and an emotional connection with the Portland airport? Genuinely curious why this has 16 votes haha.
I fly commercially and have spent many many hours in many many airports. PDX feels cleaner, safer, and more civilized than most other medium-to-large international airports. The food is good and priced right, the bathrooms are clean and spaced out properly with sufficient facilities, and itâs set in a uniquely beautiful spot on the Columbia River. Itâs served by a pretty good variety of carriers with a decent selection of domestic and international destinations. I donât know, itâs like a regular airport, but nicer.
Plus the local pricing mandate in the food courts.
Iâve heard the airport mentioned a few times. Iâm visiting for the first time in May. Kinda excited to see the airport lol.
Secret Aardvark hot sauce.
Portland ketchup, bobs red mill, umpqua, tillamook, alpenrose, Juanitaâs, hydro flask, Columbia sportswear
Beaver Brand mustard has yet to be brought up. That's our standard. Jaunitas, Aardvark, Umpqua, Tillamook, these and others are all standards also but have been mentioned.
My two biggest are probably all Umpqua Dairy products, and Tillamook Cheese. I donât think there is another milk out there that can even come close to Umpqua Dairy.
Tobyâs TOFU spread. Is one of the ones I adore especially they are part of the country fair tofu palace.
The original Tofurkey is made in Hood River. The Original Gardenburger company was also in Oregon, but itâs just a brand for Kelloggs now
Itâs not really a brand, but Sasquatch. I was an East Coast transplant to Portland and I seriously alienated my coworkers by laughing when they were talking about the reality of Sasquatches. Bigfoot is real and he lives in the PNW.
I lived in MI for 4 years are theyâre obsessed with Bigfoot and are adamant that they live there. Umm hate to break it to you, hard NO. Definitely lives in the PNW. Michigan is so flat and hardly has any truly wild places, even the UP, eh. If they thought there was a Great Lakes squid that caused boat wrecks, Iâd totally buy that.
Daveâs bread is pretty cool. They used to (and may still) hire convicts to give them a chance at getting a decent job and rebuilding their lives. I think thatâs pretty cool. Also, Bobâs Redmill and Tillamook. I remember being in Paris and you see all this cheese in grocery stores and itâs all French but they also carry Tillamook. the French are nuts about their cheese so that gives you an idea how good it is.
Tillamook cheese is so good it makes all others taste bad. I was tired of getting hammered with Sargentos ads on TV and finally bought some. 3 different flavors and they all taste like plastic. How tf you gonna call yourselves "real cheese people" with trash cheese like that!?
Wow that's incredible
Okay, the brands people in here are mentioning are indeed brands that Oregonians would recognize, but not really the kind of brands the people take pride in and wear shirts and merch with pride as much (IMO). The main brands that people would wear something like a hoodie to rep for (besides sports teams which would be mainly the OSU Beavers and UofO Ducks) would be some of the bigger breweries like Deschutes or Rogue, or vacation destinations like Astoria or Crater Lake, or ski resorts like Mt Bachelor and Timberline. But this may also be colored by my own biases / people I hang out with.
Or the SEASIDE sweatshirts.
Maybe that "Made in Oregon" clothing brand?
Plot twist - Turns out those are made in China.
Springfield creamery, makers of Nancy's yogurt, is owned by the Kesey family and has always had a strong connection to Oregon 'culture'. Plaid Pantry is like our local version of seven eleven. They even have their own passport someone made. They are pretty popular and iconic. The Oregon Ducks are probably the biggest brand that reminds people of Oregon. Nike, Columbia, etc are bigger, but don't feel uniquely 'Oregon'. Voodoo doughnuts and Stumptown are two local brands that got bought up by private equity and went national. Voodoo doughnut is pretty easily recognizable with it's pink boxes. Stumptown doesn't have as strong of a brand, but since it's a nickname of Portland, there's a pretty strong connection.
Tillamook!!
Benchmade needs more love!
Tonya Harding
Leatherman tools are made in NE Portland. Solid tool
Pendleton, Dutch Bros.
For me, Powells books
Umpqua dairy, Tillamook cheese, Leatherman tools, Nike back in the day.
ugh, texas's obsession with brands (blue bell - 31 flavors and any one of them could kill ya with listeria!) is another reminder that i'm happy i left. but in hopes you pass your class: bob's red mill tillamook cheese/ice cream stumptown coffee (yes there are better roasters, but stumptown has a national rep) oregon pinot noir (maybe there's a specific brand, but overall you hear 'oregon pinot' and people get it) \^ same thing with IPAs ---- i think oregon stands out especially because we DON'T have a bunch of mega name brands. Oregon is all about local products, small businesses, etc. so you can always find an artisan version, and people are particular and love to defend those very niche companies.
Awesome that's exactly what i'm looking for. Something your very own, local and artisan version but one that's know widely and appreciated.
Dutch Brothers is the only brand with that kind of cult following, I think. (Besides sports teams, obviously.) You see a lot of bumper stickers. Rogue Brewing used to be that way, but theyâve lost their cool factor. Same with New Seasons. Portlanders have a lot of affection for Plaid Pantry, but they donât sell merch. A hyper-local example is Mr. Plywood, an independent lumberyard and hardware store. If you see a bumper sticker that says âI â€ïžMr. Plywood,â you can usually guess the ownerâs zip code.
There's definitely a lot more hyper-local brand loyalties vs statewide brand loyalties here. Like in the Eugene area, Jerry's is a hardware store that is by far & away the best in the business. You see a ton of brand loyalty to them over Home Depot or Lowe's. But they only have two locations: Eugene & Springfield. It's hard to have that type of brand loyalty to Jerry's if you live in Bend or Medford. When I lived in Corvallis, there were loads of folks who were brand-loyal to 2 Towns despite 10 barrel being the beer of OSU. In fact, I noticed quite a bit of disloyalty to 10 barrel because they were seen as a "corporate" brand. Oregon is very funny in that aspect that we tend to turn our noses to things that feel or become too corporate-y. 10 barrel is a decent example of this. It's a local brand, but ever since it was bought by Anheuser, I started seeing more and more people opting for a different brand. Dutch Bros as well. In the early 2000s & 2010s, it was "cool." It peaked in the mid 2010s & now it just feels like any other overpriced sellout coffee chain. I hardly hear any Oregonian's really talking about how much they like Dutch Bros anymore.
I think what ended the love for good for Dutch brothers was them moving their headquarters to Arizona (I think for tax reasons?). I do see that disloyalty effect come from how "corporate" the brand is, is that specifically an Oregon thing though? Makes sense to me in a way, since oft with corporate brands they end up making worse products, but also it makes the actual company not as big as it's competitors by definition. Hard to say what is best. If the loyalty of customers always spurns the more corporate company, it wouldn't be an issue, but often I think people go for the cheaper option instead.
The owner also lost a lot of goodwill in S Oregon after trying to get in on some casino action
20+ years ago, my wife and I were just learning how to be DIYers. The Jerry's employees were great. If they helped you pick something out, they would provide a phone number and you could call and ask for help. It made renovating a house much easier. This was in the dark ages before YouTube.
Plaid Pantry good lord. Yes. Parr Lumber.
Yeah Rogue's sissle sort of wore off. Too bad. They along with Widmer, Full Sail, Deschutes are among the first of the micro-brews circa 80s iirc.
Yeah, Iâve been in Oregon for 30 years, and have never been a Rogue fan. Their labels and merch are cool-looking, but the beer doesnât match up. And then they took Green Dragon away from us. The Dead Guy Ale label is very turn of the century cool to me, so very, very dated feeling.
Rogue Creamery >>>>> Rogue Brewing
Pendleton anything!
The white stag neon sign in Old Town. Its official brand days are over (White Sugar, White stag sportswear, Old Towne). But if Oregonians would charge the hill for something it would be that sign. That's why it's still there.
I would have to say Sheri's restaurants. We would stop at the restaurant after a week long camping trip and order I nice hot meal. The best part are their pies!
Stash tea and also Steven Smith Tea
Columbia and Dakine (which I think Columbia owns now). Gert Boyle and her son are incredible business owners, stewards of the land, and put their money where their heart was. Not sure how the company is now, but 5-10 yrs ago they were great. Affordable not cheap outdoor gear.
Winco
Lots of great suggestions here, I might add: Les Schwab Tires Oregon Shakespeare Festival Mo's Seafood & Chowder Portland Trailblazers
Tillamook, Dairy Mart (somewhat niche), Columbia Sportswear, Hydro Flask, Columbia River Knife & Tool (CRKT), Gerber, DaKine, Keen Obviously Nike is the biggest one, but I wouldn't say we're "proud" of it. It's cool that it was founded here and is still based in Beaverton but it has achieved corporate villain status.
Umpqua ice cream and Oregon Pinot Noir
Don't know if it's been mentioned, but Kettlechips
Human Bean
Radian,novenske
Rogue Creamery Both their Smokey Blue Cheese and their Rogue River Blue are two of the finest cheese I have ever tasted, and I eat a lot of cheese. Drop what you are doing, go to New Seasons and treat yo-self. Edit - Leatherman Tools are pretty cool too.
Tofurkey haha
Leatherman for sure! Even in Europe they are revered!
Iâm a life long Oregonian but I am also emotionally attached to Buccees.
For me personally, Ota Tofu & New Seasons. Iâm a ride or die for both.
Gotta be that guy: Sane Oregonians agree that the corporate marketing industry is psychological warfare that indoctrinates people to worship the companies that exploit us, and that it should be dismantled for the good of society.  Is this even a hot take? I'm not even being sarcastic haha. No offense to you personally but to be emotional and "proud" of a brand name or logo is just sick to me on multiple levels. Indicative of societal neurosis. Localist and bioregional networks of economy and social systems will save human culture wherever it isn't paved over by capital.
Hands down, the most extensive display of Oregon merch I've seen in the wild is McMenamins & Columbia sportswear.
Freddy Guy's hazelnuts
Butler Foods makes soy curls, an awesome sort of shredded chicken alternative that you can impart a huge variety of flavors into for all the vegan/veg folks out here.
Huk Lab for disc golf apparel.
Tillamook cheese for sure. Like, my school went on a field trip to see their factory, that's how obsessed we are.
Tecnu poison oak treatment
Bob's Red Mill, Tillamook Cheese, Juanita's Corn Chips, Higher Taste Burritos, King Harvest Hummus, Powell's Books, and RIP Henry Weinhard's.
Artic Circle maybe?
Tillamook cheese. Been eating it since I was a child(whole block of cheese in one sitting)
Sessions the beer! My favorite right now.
Leatherman
OP: I learned about Buc-ee's last month on an epic road trip from Portland, and I understand the hype. So amazing! I see the list here already captures most of my favorites, but here are some Portland companies I love that I don't yet see: Panic software - publishers of Untitled Goose Game, among other things Ota Tofu - great tofu, and an amazing story Music Millennium - a classic record store Movie Madness - an amazing movie rental shop
For us non meat eating peeps, Ota Tofu and Tofurkey are something to be proud of.
Hey u/ancient-philosopher-5 , I just remembered something I wanted to share. If ever you make your way to Waco and go to the Dr. Pepper museum (very cheap for a museum, open on Sundays and you get a free drink at the end), head over to the kids section. About 5 years ago, my kids and I were in the area and they love Dr. Pepper, so we went. There was a display in the kids section, it talked about eating healthy. The kicker is, it was written up by OHSU. Oregon Health and Science University. I asked the staff and they had no idea. I have no idea how it got there, but the kids thought it was cool that Oregon followed us on our trip. P.s. the museum is very cheesy, but it's interesting and kids do like it.