Tiny Business Village

The Problem: Blue River was the central retail and service hub for the area.  

A vibrant Blue River is important to the entire upper McKenzie Community

Blue River Died

On Labor Day, 2020, the Holiday Farm Fire ravaged our communities, taking out hundreds of homes and businesses.  

The town of Blue River was incinerated – turned to dust in a matter of hours.

Before the fire, the town was already struggling from a number of issues: 

• Decades of land use laws designed to strangle rural Oregon, 
• An economy moving away from timber harvesting 
• Highway changes that bypassed the downtown businesses 

Businesses have been lost.  Scant resources had been made available for business recovery.

3 years later, there has been some rebuilding started with some homes and services like the post office, fire station, medical clinic and library.  Only one other business has broken ground to rebuild. 

This recovery project is designed to Help 

• businesses reopen – especially those impacted by the fire.  
• Provide more services and food options to the community
• Support Tourism in the region by providing much needed food, shopping and attraction options.

McKenzie Community Partnership is working to help small businesses recover. 

Problem

New  restaurants require a tremendous investment and also require the ability to handle a lot of sewage.  This is a huge problem for our area.

• Septic Capacity is Limited
• Small town population and seasonal tourism means lower volume business
• Cost to build standard restaurant could easily hit $500 a sq ft.

Solution

Food Carts

• They are inexpensive to build
• Require few employees to operate
• Can operate seasonally

How To Make Food Carts Pop!

Provide a food cart pod with multiple carts, beautiful common outdoor and indoor dining space, restrooms and occasional entertainment. 

Problem: 

We have many talented artists who live along the river – yet there are limited spaces to display and sell their creations. 

Solution:

Create an Artist Co-Op

Provide affordable retail space and resources to local artists and entrepreneurs to help them start businesses and generate sustainable income, supporting the local economy and region.

Create an Art Gallery 

Enable co-op members to share their expertise and skills by offering educational workshops, supporting both personal and professional development in the community.

Problem:

Most people aren’t aware of the history of the Native Americans that lived here before Europeans immigrated here.  

Solution:

Work with local tribes to create a welcoming center to share the history and another reason to stop.

The Challenge

For many small and micro businesses, the cost of opening and maintaining a traditional brick-and-mortar store is simply out of reach — especially in rural communities rebuilding after disaster. 

Our Solution

We’re reimagining what it means to do business in a rural town.

Affordable Pop-Up Shops: Vendors can rent small storefront spaces at a fraction of the cost, with flexible booking options that align with peak tourist traffic. No long-term commitment required.

Strength in Numbers: Grouping shops together creates a vibrant, buzzing market atmosphere that draws more attention than individual stands.

Weekend Market Vibes: Think Saturday Market — curated, community-driven weekend events that celebrate local talent, food, and craftsmanship.

Collaborative Co-Op Model: For vendors who want to reduce costs even further, we offer the option to share space and resources through a co-op model that supports multiple small businesses under one roof.

We’re building a space where local businesses can thrive — one pop-up at a time.