Welcome to the Willamette Market
A longtime South Eugene favorite, our Willamette Market is where fresh, local quality meets everyday convenience. Browse our selection of fresh produce, cheeses, coffee, tea, and bulk goods, plus premium meats and seafood from expert butchers and fishmongers. And don’t miss the Northwest’s finest selection of wine and beer.
Beyond the aisles, we offer gourmet ready-to-eat meals from our kitchen, grill, and sushi bar, alongside fresh pizza from our woodstone hearth oven. Treat yourself to cakes, pastries, and crafted beverages from our barista.
Oregon owned and operated since 1979, Market of Choice began as Price Chopper, opened by Dick and Marsha Wright in Cottage Grove, Oregon.
In the early 2000s, leadership changed hands to their son Rick Wright who evolved the company to Market of Choice and has grown it to include 11 stores, located in Eugene, Portland, West Linn, Bend, Corvallis, Ashland and Medford.
Market of Choice has earned a reputation among their employees for treating people right. Today, it is Oregon’s only locally owned grocer with stores across the state, employing more than 1,400 Oregonians who can grow into highly skilled positions as managers and authentic craftspeople through career paths.
On top of that, they seek out and support local food and beverage producers, making it their mission to provide high-quality, innovative choices for every lifestyle, as well as the best locally sourced products and familiar brands that you trust.
“Over the years, we’ve developed deep, meaningful relationships with farmers, ranchers, fisherfolk, and food and beverage producers across our great state. Because we want to see them succeed, we strive to inspire, mentor and assist them, as well as amplify BIPOC, LGBTQ+ and Women entrepreneurs. Together, we form a diverse, forward-thinking food community,” says Wright.
To support local makers, the company carries more than 7,000 local products company-wide and partners with organizations like XXcelerate, Built Oregon, The Meaningful Marketplace, and Oregon Entrepreneurs Network, which offer business education, peer support and a pathway to financing for food and beverage entrepreneurs. Market of Choice’s own MOJO and Amplify programs support local makers by providing guidance, development support, targeted funding, distribution solutions and amplification.
“This full-circle philosophy of supporting local translates into healthier communities, meaningful jobs and a stronger state-wide economy,” Wright says.
Because Market of Choice believes in social responsibility, the company focuses on community giving in ways that support families. All Market of Choice stores work closely with local food-collection programs to ensure that foods nearing expiration are distributed to food banks to help fight hunger in Oregon. Several stores participate in the company’s Scan Program for which customers can add a donation to their purchase at checkout to be given to local food banks.
The company’s generosity and sense of service includes the support of nonprofits and organizations that make big impacts in Oregon, such as the Brian Grant Foundation that offers proven tools to improve the well-being of people with Parkinson’s and Angel Hair Foundation, which is a private, nonprofit corporation that provides the funding needed to purchase cranial prosthesis hair systems, or “Angel Hair Systems,” for children in Oregon who have lost their hair due to medical illness.
The company also has the Dream program, which lifts up those who aspire to reach pinnacles in sports, the arts, and the culinary world, by providing financial and marketing support, as well as access to additional sponsors through Market of Choice’s network of suppliers, for one person for one year.
“Dream provides recipients the opportunity and time needed to hone their skills, attain growth goals and care for themselves and their family,” Wright says.
Visit Market of Choice’s website to see store locations and the many other ways they make a difference in each community. They truly care about their customers and the communities they serve.
https://www.facebook.com/marketofchoice
https://www.marketofchoice.com
Back to the Willamette Valley Magazine Homepage!