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Vale’s Logan’s Market is all about community

Logan’s Market store manager Denise Palmer organizes sections of the store. The Market was awarded Business of the Year by the Vale Chamber of Commerce on June 22. (The Enterprise/Isabella Garcia)

VALE — Treat others how you want to be treated. It’s an age-old adage, but one that continues to have a place in Logan’s Market’s guiding values.

The local chain, owned by Logan and Pattie Hamilton, has served the local community for 22 years not just as a grocer, but as a supporter for civic benefit. 

The market has supported area athletic teams, the recent school bond measure and bolsters opportunities for youth in the community.

 “When it comes to kids or youth or something like the school bond, it goes back to treating people how you want to be treated,” Logan Hamilton said. “We believe the community can’t ask for handouts, we have to help ourselves.”

That support didn’t go unnoticed this year when several people nominated Logan’s Market for the Business of the Year Award from the Vale Chamber of Commerce. While the nominations were enough to catch the board’s eye, chamber president Jessica Kulm remembers being drawn to the number of nominations from youth.

 “They specifically want to thank the market for their involvement with athletics,” Kulm said. “I thought that was pretty cool.”

That community support, along with the role the market has played in encouraging Vale residents to shop locally and the stable jobs it has provided since its opening in 1997, were a winning combination. Logan’s Market took home the award from the Vale Chamber banquet June 22.

 “The coolest part is that it validates what the community thinks of us,” Hamilton said of the award.

The focus on community is a hallmark of the Logan’s Market brand, one that extends beyond Vale. The chain also has stores in Redmond in Central Oregon and Marsing and Filer in Idaho. Hamilton says each store is a little different because it is shaped by the community it serves. 

Hamilton — who joined the grocery industry when he was 16 years old, working at Safeway — has seen sweeping changes across the industry, from big box businesses pulling customers away from local stores to Amazon entering the scene.

 “The industry changes so fast — who knew Amazon would get into the grocery business?” Hamilton said. “You can get your chicken and lettuce in a box, but I still think there is a need for it to be something you can come in and smell.”

Hamilton isn’t interested in making Logan’s Market compete with big box stores like Walmart and Albertsons in Ontario, or global powerhouse Amazon. Instead, he is focused on staying on top of industry developments, like e-commerce, and strengthening the corner of the market that Logan’s Market has captured.

 “We’re focused not on expanding, but on getting better at doing what we’re doing,” Hamilton said. That means listening to the needs of the community, including inside the store. 

Thinking of the future, Hamilton puts a priority on providing opportunities and growth for more than 30 coworkers and employees, including some who have been with the store for 20-plus years.

“I take it personal when I make decisions,” Hamilton said. “It’s not just what is best for me and Pattie, but for the people who’ve battled the battles with us.”

Reporter Isabella Garcia: [email protected] or 541-473-3377

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