Biz Beat 11-27-2013

This long Thanksgiving weekend, those of us who are capable of leaving the house (or actually have a house) might look at alternatives to the retail mania that grips our nation. If you feel compelled to shop, Holiday Market with all its delights will be open at the Fairgrounds and it’s a marvelous place to hang out even if you’re broke. Fifth Street Public Market is hosting “Small Business Saturday” for the third year in a row Nov. 30. All the shops there are locally owned and operated, as are hundreds of small businesses around town. What about the big chain stores that stay open on Thanksgiving Day, keeping their employees from enjoying the holiday with friends and families? We’re not inclined to encourage that.

Replay Toys & Collectibles opened Nov. 22 at 255 E. 18th Ave. in a building that was previously occupied by Discount Sports & Vitamins. Shane Billings is the owner and tells us Replay is a buy, sell and trade shop as well as offering collectibles. Billings has had online businesses but this is his first bricks-and-mortar retail enterprise. “Unlike existing local toy shops and the big-box stores where the bulk of toys originate, this store’s primary mission is reuse,” he says. “We look to provide a place for people to buy and sell used toys for kids of all ages.” Used toys make up 80 to 90 percent of the inventory. Hours are noon to 6 pm Tuesday through Saturday, email replayeugene@gmail.com

Mother Ship Food Cart has landed in Eugene with “food that is out of this world,” Rebecca Kagawa says. The cart is currently docked at the Pacific Pride fueling station at the corner of 6th and Lincoln. Fresh local food is on the menu, including pot stickers, biscuits and sausage gravy, udon, hamburgers and brisket tacos. The cart was formerly called Streets but has a new menu. 

Springfield businesses, schools and community organizations will be participating in the Springfield Christmas Parade that will begin at 1 pm Saturday, Dec. 7, on Olympic Street heading west to Mohawk, south to 14th and Main, then west to end at Pioneer Parkway and C Street. Parade entries this year number 82 and range from unicycles to Hawaiian dancers to an airplane or two.

Back issues of McKenzie River Reflections are being digitally archived, says Ken Engelman, co-publisher of the paper that has documented life on the McKenzie since 1978. The work involves scanning about 15,000 tabloid-sized pages in bound archives, and a database will be searchable by key words or phrases. The project is being financed by NewsArk using crowd-funding. Find information on the newspaper’s Facebook page.

We hear the Lane Community College Foundation raised nearly $300,000 at its annual Harvest Dinner and Auction Oct. 30, exceeding last year’s total by about $36,000. Lead sponsor of the event was Lease Crutcher Lewis, a commercial construction company.

Plan ahead for the nonprofit Cascadia Wildlands 11th annual Wonderland Auction from 6 to 10 pm Saturday, Dec. 14, at the EMU Ballroom on the UO campus. Nearly 200 businesses have contributed so far to the event, from cash and in-kind services to donated goods and services. Mountain Rose Herbs is the event’s lead sponsor. Entry is $40 in advance, $50 at the door, kids 12 and under are free. See cascwild.org. 

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