Cary’s Produce Patch – Going out of business
Last night I received an email from Cary’s Produce Patch. While it’s no surprise that it’s the end of the season for fresh produce (frost on the ground this morning!) I was bummed to learn they won’t be back next year.
It is with sadness & great relief; we have decided this will be the last season for us selling produce. We have stuck it out as long as we could, this season was our last ditch effort to make this business work.
Struggles with the City of Bend (code and licensing) and the economy in general are cited among their reasons for closing for good. Personally their location at the Outlet mall isn’t along my normal “route” so I didn’t make it there as often as I would have liked.
“Good” news… If you are a fan of their wares (including fresh produce, tea, jams, seasonings, and other dry goods) then their last day will be this Sunday (10/9) and everything in the shop will be 40% off.
Sunday October 9th will be our last day of business, we hope you will all come out and help us clean out our current inventory and give us the opportunity to say goodbye. We will be opening at 11:00 A.M. on Sunday and close at 4:00 P.M. All of our inventory will be on sale at 40% off. We thank you again for supporting us this season and for the last 14 years. We are still open this week so if you are needing great produce we still have lots to choose from.
Goodbye, and thanks to the Lowe family for many years of excellent customer service. I’ll be sad to see them go.
Cary’s Produce Patch
Bend Factory Stores
61334 S. Hwy 97 Suite #120
Bend, OR 97702
It’s unfortunate. I am saddened whenever I hear of a small retailer closing their doors. Their entire life’s savings might gone. And I certainly didn’t contribute to their success. Like Jen, I seldom visited the Outlet center. Maybe once a year. And though I did go into the Produce Patch every time, hoping they might have something I had a hankering for, like farm-fresh eggs, they weren’t that kind of store, so I left without buying anything and feeling vaguely rotten for having done so.
I personally thought it was a lousy location. People seeking discounted outlet items are not likely to buy produce that costs a few cents more than supermarket prices.
From the outside looking in it’s easy to say it was a bad location, didn’t have what you were looking for and so forth. But I know the entire purpose was for Cary’s Produce Patch to be located in the Parking lot of The Bend Factory Stores in tents. Notice it say FACTORY STORES, not OUTLET, so a Farm Market could pretty much work with the current retail establishments. The city told The Produce Patch than “tents were not allowed”, so Bend Factory Stores allowed them to operate out of a vacant store front. If this had not occurred they had no other options open to them except to operate against the current city code or not open at all. If you know anything about the owners it is that they are honest, have integrity and don’t break or bend the rules. Was the location ideal, not really given the original intent, but it worked on short notice and Bend Factory Stores did all they could to help. Could they carry everything a grocery store carries, no but that is not what their business name implied, “Cary’s Produce Patch” pretty much says it all. No you can’t please everyone and there is no one perfect location to fit everyone’s needs or wants. If you wanted great produce and wanted to skip the grocery store or farmers market you could go to Cary’s Produce Patch.