KALAMA — Food, drinks, art and flowers round out the shopping options at the Port of Kalama’s new roughly $19-million Mountain Timber Market.
The market’s grand opening wasSaturday, while some vendors started selling items a few weeks prior. The roughly 33,000-square-foot building on the Columbia River includes nine storefronts, two smaller restaurant spaces, a section for food trucks and more.
Here are the shops at 254 Hendrickson Drive so far:
Birrieria La Vaquita
360-431-7732, Birrieria La Vaquita on Facebook
Leslye Martinez of Kalama is setting up her food truck in one of the designated food truck parking spots outside the market. Martinez said since July 4 she’s been selling her authentic Mexican birria — braised, marinated beef — served in tacos, on nachos or with rice and beans. The type of barria Martinez cooks originates from Guanajuato, Mexico, she said, where her recently deceased father was raised. She said the two dreamed of opening their own eatery, and it “makes me very emotional to know it’s going to come true” at the market.
Bloom Cake Studio
406-217-6122, www.facebook.com/bloomcakestudio2023
Pastry chef Kailee Davidson said she trained in New York City with a top wedding cake artist. Now, the former Longview resident recently moved to Kalama to follow her dream to open her first business selling wedding cakes, as well as smaller treats such as cookies, cupcakes, brownies and cakes by the slice. Davidson strives to use local ingredients to create high-end desserts, in an area she said was in need of more sweets options. Examples of her work include vanilla bean sour cream cake topped with Italian meringue buttercream and red velvet cake filled with chocolate ganache and topped with cream cheese mascarpone buttercream. Davidson said she is in one of the market’s two roughly 675-square-foot restaurant spaces, which includes her kitchen, dessert display case and space for wedding cake consultations. She said she hopes to open outdoor seating later.
Bonny Blooms
360-703-9008, bonnyblooms.com
Owners Jana and Craig Bell opened their 2-acre flower farm just outside Kelso in 2014. Now the couple, who met in Scotland, is opening their first storefront in the Kalama market to “bring the flower farm to people,” said Jana Bell. The pair specializes in dahlias, and in addition to selling tubers, or dahlia roots, they also offers bouquets and arrangements for events like weddings.
Chinook Shoppe
Visitors will be able to buy merchandise designed and produced by Kalama students at the Chinook Shoppe, a new store developed and operated by Kalama School District students and staff. The store plans to sell items like Kalama-themed shirts, tumblers, coasters and keychains and is a new addition to the district’s Career Technology Education program meant to give students real-world experience with marketing, engineering and what goes into running a small business.
DK Hewn
360-831-3188, fivestarflavors.net
Katie and Don Swett created their Vancouver-based spice, rub and bitters business a year ago. Now they plan to sell their Five Star Flavor products in their first brick-and-mortar at the market, as well as grilling items like tongs and food like sausages and cheeses. Katie Swett said the pair blend their own spices and rubs for meats and vegetables in flavors like garlic pepper and mesquite. They also handcraft cocktail bitters in flavors like aromatic orange and chocolate.
Flavors of ChaChee
Flavors of ChaChee on Facebook
Owner Zachariah Santiago uses inspirations from his father’s homeland of Puerto Rico to flavor traditional Puerto Rican and Pacific Northwest dishes in his food truck. Santiago, a Kalama resident for eight years, said he cooks local seasonal items like crab and fried oysters, as well as traditional Puerto Rican barbecue dishes like pinchos — chicken kabobs — and pernil — pork shoulder. He offers his own take on a Cubano sandwich, and plans to include a rotating menu on the weekends. Opening his own eatery is “something I’ve always wanted to do,” he said, and the creation of the market was perfect timing for him to join.
Luckman Coffee
luckmancoffee.com
The coffee shop, with nearby locations in Castle Rock and Woodland, is set to feature its small-batch roasted bean blends at the market. Flavors include the Legendary Blend, an in-house expresso with hints of bittersweet chocolate and caramel, and the award-winning Peg Leg Jim Blend, a dark roast, according to the company’s website.
Parker Family Wine
360-281-2716, www.koipondcellars.com
People can enjoy locally made wine and small plates overlooking the amphitheater at the Port of Kalama Marine Park at Parker Family Wine at the market. Owners Wes and Michelle Parker have opened previous brick-and-mortar shops under the name Koi Pond Cellars, including in downtown Vancouver, while the winery itself is located in La Center. The couple’s newest venture Parker Family Wine offers small-batch, handcrafted blends; “really top notch wine,” Wes Parker said. Their market space includes a patio for outdoor seating, where people can enjoy their Bordeaux-style wines by the glass, as well as tastings. He said the market, overall, “provides a luxurious feeling,” and is “really upper echelon.”
Reece Luxury Photography Art
360-909-3753, www.facebook.com/reecephotoart
Kalama photographer Joe Reece has sold his nature photos on metal prints for five years at local galleries, but now opened his first brick-and-mortar. Reece said he shoots recognizable landscapes of nearby mountain ranges and locations like Hawaii — places locals have likely been before and have connections with. His metal prints are sold by the square inch and come framed or unframed. He also prints his art on smaller pieces like refrigerator magnets for souvenirs.
The Dot Shop Gallery
www.facebook.com/ChristinaLeeDotMeditationAu
Artist Christina Lee of Kalama creates colorful, geometric art using dots to cover stones, canvases and more. Lee, who studied art in school, said she was turned on to dotting art after watching a tutorial online. In addition to her art, she plans to sell in her shop “dotting kits,” which she said will include stencils, paint and dotting tools to create about 15 different dot sizes — from roughly a millimeter to half-inch dots — and a link to watch Lee’s instructions online. She also plans to sell other artists’ dotting pieces, as well as art supplies she said “you can’t find at Michaels or on Amazon.”
Upstream Ice Cream
www.facebook.com/upstreamicecream
Two Kalama couples — Elizabeth and Tyler Pierce and Alanna Buck and Nate Davis — plan to park their local ice cream truck Memorial Day through Labor Day outside the market. The seasonal eatery, which opened in July, specializes in build-your-own ice cream sandwiches. Elizabeth Pierce said ice cream created in the Pacific Northwest is sandwiched between two cookies from local bakeries in flavors like chocolate chip and M&M’s. People can add toppings like sprinkles or Oreos. They also offer ice cream in cups, on waffle or cake cones, as well as build-your-own sundaes. Previous specialty monthly sundae flavors include mountain berry and smores. “It’s just important to bring everyone together,” said Elizabeth Pierce about the new business venture. “And who doesn’t like ice cream?”
Whimsy Chocolate
www.whimsychocolates.com
Pamela Wanous and her mother-in-law Ann Wanous create handmade chocolates in flavors such as ginger, salted caramel and wine truffle in Battle Ground. Pamela Wanous was inspired by her aunt’s chocolate expertise, and aimed to created a family legacy by starting the business in 2012, according to the company’s website. Other unique chocolate flavors include bourbon candied pecan caramels, habanero truffle and eggnog meltaway.
If you go
What: Mountain Timber Market
Where: 254 Hendrickson Drive, Kalama.
Contact: mountaintimber.org/contact
