Taking a bike ride down North Interstate Avenue can introduce you to the rich diversity of North Portland. The MAX light rail runs alongside traffic, as does the busy bike lane. You’ll pass a middle school, a chicken wing house, Providence Hospital, a hopping karaoke bar, and a multi-cultural arts center. You can also get to the University of Portland, cross the border into Washington, or stop at New Seasons Market. Named after the neighborhood, we opened our Arbor Lodge store in 2005.

You may notice a few things about the Arbor Lodge store before you get inside. A kiosk sits on the very Northwest corner of the parking lot and houses the “COFY Station.” The Career Opportunities For Youth is a little coffee stand that’s run by at-risk youth through the Portland Opportunities Industrialization Center (POIC). We built and equiped the kiosk and charge the POIC a dollar a year to rent the space. The COFY Station offers the kids a great opportunity to learn how to be successful in the workplace.

Another feature we like in the parking lot are those indented nature pockets called bioswales. You may have noticed that Portland sees its fair share of rain, and instead of dumping it all into the cities sewers, we liked the idea of putting some of it back into the earth. Our bioswale is home to beautiful native plants that attract birds and wildlife, while at the same time helping to protect our city’s water quality.

Sure, we’re excited about our parking lot (we’re strange that way). But chances are what brings you to our stores is located inside. Maybe it’s the warm greeting you receive from the friendly faces at our Solutions counter where we host our popular Weekend Tastings. Be sure to get a little taste of what they’re featuring that day, whether its seasonal strawberries or housemade sausages.

Or maybe it’s the Produce Department, located right behind Solutions. If you want to beeline straight to it, you’re not alone. One of our favorite customers does just that. She’s around five years old and comes in with her mother weekly. The first thing she does is run into the Produce Department and grab a tomato. 

Our staff members know the relationship our customers have with good food and good health. One cashier has even seen a cancer patient go from diagnosis, through treatment, and now is happy to say she’s cancer free. “She’d come in here to get help from the Wellness people, because she just felt good being here,” she says.

Good food and nice people are one of our favorite combinations. At New Seasons Market Arbor Lodge we’re happy to say you can have both.