• Big changes are afoot at Saturday Market downtown Eugene with the coming departures of General Manager Kimberly Cullen and Manager of Promotions & Advertising Kim Still. “These are two high-profile, essentially Eugene jobs that require high levels of creativity and dedication to the cause of providing an accessible marketplace for local artisans and customers,” Still says. Both are pursuing other work in the Eugene area, but Still did not elaborate by press time on why they are leaving or where they are going. A third position as market assistant is also open. Find job descriptions at eugenesaturdaymarket.org. Deadline to apply is June 9.
• Taylor’s Bar & Grill just off the University of Oregon campus on 13th Avenue has a new owner, Ramzy Hatter, known in the Portland restaurant community as one of the founders and owners of the Lardo sandwich chain, a Russian restaurant Kachka, and a Pearl District bar, the River Pig Saloon. A May 17, 2016 Oregonian story reported on two lawsuits Hattar filed against his partners, one for $9 million and another for $1.6 million. Willamette Week has also tracked Hattar’s legal battles. Taylor’s has been a popular and storied UO watering hole since 1922. The previous owner is Chuck Hare of Hop Valley Brewing.
• Star Gate Awareness Resources, the metaphysical book, gift and music store at 1374 Willamette Street, is celebrating its 30th anniversary in June. “Staying in business can be difficult because you are always being tested for your accountability, integrity and staying true to your heart’s vision,” owner Alan Stein writes in a letter to the EW editor in 2007. A celebration is planned from noon to 3:30 pm Sunday, June 11, at Lamb Cottage community center in Skinner Butte Park, 130 Cheshire Avenue. The event includes live music by Chad Wilkins and Rob Tobias, dance, a vegan lunch and a “Gratitude for the Earth Ceremony.”
• Marché Restaurant Group is welcoming back two noted former staffers, Rocky Maselli and Leah Pearl. The couple are returning to Eugene after five years working in San Francisco, says Marché founder and CEO Stephanie Pearl Kimmel. Rocky will be leading the Marché kitchen he helped design and build almost 20 years ago. Leah will return to her post as general manager of the newly expanded Provisions Market Hall.