A new mercantile-meets-coffee-shop is now open on Bend's Newport Avenue. The Pantry, located in the former Devore's and Humble Beet building, opened Jan. 8.
The store's bulk section stocks pantry items including nuts, seeds, flour and mixes such as pizza dough.
"We got really excited about extending the pantry of our kitchen," Co-owner Stephen Thompson told the Source. Meanwhile, The Pantry's household bulk apothecary includes items used for cleaning, as well as base ingredients for people to make their own soaps and other household supplies.
Owners Thompson and Emma Veader, both from culinary backgrounds, wanted to offer all-organic pantry and to-go food items with a focus on helping customers reduce their consumption of single-use plastic.
"We are trying to model minimal waste—almost nothing in plastic containers, almost nothing that resembles plastic," Thompson said.
Thompson and Veader, a pastry chef and Ayurvedic practitioner, are currently baking up pastries and other treats, along with coffee drinks, and have plans to vastly expand The Pantry's to-go offerings.
The two took over the space in May, opening some eight months later.
"We planned to roll out in three or four months, but we took our time and adapted our plans based on the state of everything, Thompson said. "Luckily the use of this space has been designated as a grocery, so it allows us to stay open."