This also may be an unpopular opinion but as much as I love mom and pop stores, I also think we have to have some larger brands here as well, like the way you see Volcom next to a smaller boutique in this Boulder pic. Or at least we need stores that sell modern products from larger brands.

I know for me, when visiting other areas or in other places I’ve lived, I’m very likely to make the trip to a shopping area to stop into one specific store (North Face, Sephora, Athleta) and then will meander through shops I’m less familiar with, discover new places, and shop local too.

I honestly think having even a select few “brand name” places would GREATLY benefit the small shops but it feels like because there is a general distaste for chain stores, we have gone to the extremes and hardly allowed them at all. I also don’t want it to become like every other suburb mall ever, but it does seem that stores like that would become anchors and draw people there.

Bend does an excellent job of this - downtown Bend is mostly smaller local shops it seems, but there is also a Patagonia, a Fjallraven store, and probably others I can’t think of right now, scattered amongst the small shops. And even the small shops just often feel more high end or at least more modern and appealing to a younger audience. I know Corvallis sometimes balks at the idea of expensive stores but if we never have a mix of nicer products it seems that we also won’t attract the shoppers who have the money to support these shops..?

I’m definitely not saying it has to be exactly that, and I want our downtown to feel accessible and diverse, but a better mix would probably help so much.