Blue Mountain Station provides a startup space for budding entrepreneurs | Jobs

DAYTON — Tucked away among the hills of the Toochet Valley, local business owners are busy cooking, brewing and producing artisan products at Blue Mountain Station.

Blue Mountain Station, a Port of Columbia project, has not only brought locally grown produce to this small farming town, but has also helped boost the local economy by providing a foothold for startups and small businesses.

Jenny Dickinson has served as Executive Director of the Port of Columbia since 2007. In her 2007 year, she worked to coordinate marketing research to help identify niche markets for business development and attraction in the Touchet Valley. As a result of the research, Blue Mountain Station was established on 28 acres of land formerly known as Bell Farm.

Since 2008, buildings available to local food processors have sprung up on the site like mushrooms after a rainstorm.

The Port of Columbia utilized funds from the Regional Economic Revitalization Board (CERB) to purchase the land and infrastructure for this parcel. Recently, the port decided to apply for additional CERB funding to establish a craft malt processing facility on site. Private sector partner Mainstem Malt will invest more than $5 million in paying for the facility, along with her $5 million grant/loan package from CERB.

At the heart of the facility is an artisan food center with seven business bays, including a co-op market and commercial kitchen.

Dickinson said the need for a space to support local small businesses was born in 2011 in the midst of the Great Recession.

“What I kept hearing was that these small artisan businesses were struggling and didn’t have access to the facilities they needed to operate,” she said. “We received about $750,000 from the state. By December 2013, Blue Mountain Station was built and the kitchen was certified in January 2014.”

Blue Mountain Station’s commercial kitchens can be rented by the hour to anyone in the area. A $50 cleaning deposit is required, which is refundable if the kitchen is kept clean and usable. There is a $15 charge for each hour of kitchen use.

This kitchen is ideal for start-up food processing businesses that require part-time facilities, entrepreneurs conducting product research and development, or caterers or food truck operators that require a certified space for food preparation. may be used for.

The space is also rented by 4-H groups, universities, community groups, businesses and residents who need a place to hold cooking classes or prepare, process and store food.

The 1,152 square foot kitchen has everything you need to prepare a variety of items. One of the benefits of working with a co-op is that you have the opportunity to sell your products in a market area and have access to a serving counter or window.

What Dickenson said is the “heart and soul” of the business park, which began as a farmers market with vendors once a week on Saturdays. Eventually, the idea of ​​a permanent cooperative market emerged and took root. Co-op Market is a private business that leases space at Blue Mountain Station from the Port of Columbia.

“Our community is so small that it’s difficult for farmers to sit at the market for six hours and only sell $100 worth of product,” she said. “We decided to sell on consignment so farmers and business owners could actually make money.”

A commission of approximately 20% is taken on each item sold in the market, creating a balance of revenue for both ports and business owners.

Mr Dickinson said Blue Mountain Station’s ease of access to businesses will foster greater opportunities for entrepreneurs. That’s because they include affordable lease options, split utilities, and kitchen facilities.

“If we all make an effort to buy local, the local economy will benefit,” she says. “There are many success stories that have come out of Blue Mountain Station.”

Blue Mountain Station Co-op Market Manager Susan Larson said the market not only provides consignment space for local vendors, but also offers fresh bread, soups, grab-and-go items and more. He said he makes them himself in his kitchen. Bake a meal.

“Most people don’t even know about this facility, but it really helps small businesses and local businesses get off the ground,” she said.

Ray’s Roast, North Home Bees, Red Band Cellars, and Butcher Butcher are just a few of the area businesses that sell at the Co-op Market. The market also sells kombucha made in Moscow, Idaho, grains milled in Colfax, Washington, and seeds from the Snake River Seed Cooperative, which serves the Intermountain West region.

“Some products are difficult to keep on store shelves,” Larson said. “The great thing about co-ops is that they bring together some really great businesses that people might not know existed without them.”