Beaverton gets local gift shop

Beaverton's A&P appliance parts and repair shop has changed its decor and strategy and is now offering locally made gifts and food.

After visiting an Astoria gift shop, A&P owner Linda LeClaire knew she wanted something similar to what she found there, to replace the washers and dryers on her store's main floor.

After the Astoria trip, Linda went to the Beaverton Farmers Market. In one day, she got five vendors to agree to sell their products in her store. “During the winter months, they don’t sell product,” she said. So she invited sellers of non-perishable items to help her turn A&P Appliance into a “local specialty shop.”

Linda has received no shortage of skeptical responses to her scheme. One woman said she just “didn’t understand why you would sell food in an appliance store.” But Linda doesn’t care.

“It’s all about fun,” Linda said. “It is fun to come to work when you enjoy what you’re doing.” And for her, the change is a necessary one.

Read more from Oregon Business alum Angela Webber at the Beaverton Valley Times.

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