Downtown's charm entices company to move office.

Byline: Joe Mosley The Register-Guard

Consider it apropos of nothing, or consider it a sign of things to come.

Brad Averill considers the move of his Wildtime Foods sales and administrative staff to offices in downtown Eugene to be mostly a practical matter. But he likes to think the downtown's amenities and abundance of empty office and retail space make it a prime location for other businesses seeking a home.

"When you look at downtown now, compared to a year ago, it doesn't look a lot different to me - you still see a lot of empty spaces," says Averill, whose six office employees already have moved into new quarters on the ground floor of a former residence at 12th Avenue and Pearl Street.

But the downtown area's array of coffee shops and restaurants, its proximity to bus lines, the area's bike-path network, and the relatively low lease rates have made Wildtime's move popular with employees.

"The people who are downtown love it - it's a very nice environment to work in," Averill says. The company's granola and natural cereal production facility, which has eight employees, remains in Glenwood.

"We needed to have more room, because we're building up more of a sales staff," he says, explaining the move. "There really was no way to expand where we were."

Michelle Emmons, marketing director for Downtown Eugene Inc., says there is much to recommend the city's core as a business location - from the new Eugene Public Library to nearby government offices to the new federal courthouse district that's being readied for construction.

There's also a high-level resolve to stimulate economic growth downtown, she says, and to bring back the vitality that has sputtered since the former pedestrian mall began to lose favor more than 20 years ago.

"If you take a look at the political climate right now, there's been a lot of consensus on the fact downtown needs a lot of attention," Emmons says, citing directives from the Eugene City Council and support from civic groups.

With the reopening of Broadway a year and a half ago - the last remnant of the unsuccessful mall - merchants have begun to creep back into vacant storefronts, joining the handful of restaurants and retailers who have survived the long rebuilding process.

"There are businesses that have weathered the hard times," Emmons says. "They're beginning to flourish more ... and are providing character and a niche market for downtown."

Wildtime, established in 1981, has kept mostly under the radar at its Glenwood location. The company's leases on its Glenwood production facility and its new downtown administrative office will expire in two years, and Averill hopes to consolidate at that time - whether in downtown Eugene or someplace nearby such as the Whiteaker Neighborhood, which also has good access to bike paths as well as parks and restaurants.

"I'd like to build the business enough so we can move again and consolidate," he says. "If I had my druthers of where to do it, it would probably be Whiteaker.

"You need a pleasant working environment. You spend one-third of your time at work, so you'd better like it."

Wildtime is now doing about $2 million in annual sales, Averill says. That includes about 200 tons a year of bulk Grizzlies Granola, mueslis, porridges and trail mixes, along with a similar amount of base ingredients - from grains to raisins - that are sold wholesale.

The company's foods are shipped around the country, with some sales to Canada and Japan, and can be found locally in the bulk foods sections of stores including Sundance Natural Foods, The Kiva, Red Barn Natural Grocery and Market of Choice.

CAPTION(S):

Mary Quarles, a production worker at Wildtime Foods, makes granola at the Glenwood production facility. Brad Averill of Wildtime Foods leaves the company's new office.