Community rallies to save the Corner Market

Penny Tyrell has spent 16 years building something special on River Road near the corner of Thomason Lane. She started by selling pumpkins in the parking lot. That farmstand turned into the Corner Market, a beloved community hub that sources all of its organic food from within 100 miles of Eugene. 

Now, the owner of the property is ready to sell to developers who are believed to be planning a convenience store. Tyrell and her supporters are scrambling to raise enough money to buy the land themselves. If that doesn’t work, they are hoping an interested buyer will step in who can offer the owner a competitive price and lease the spot back to the market. 

“The landlord is ready to sell it. He’s turning 80,” Tyrell said. “He just really wants to be done and we want that for him.”

The current offer on the table comes from developers who want to pay $950,000 for the property. But the owner, who Tyrell says is a dear friend and “benevolent landlord,” is giving her the first chance to buy the property.

“He wants me to buy,” Tyrell said. “He’s just like, ‘Come on now, do it.’ This is his community, too. He would like this for his legacy.”

Tyrell’s effort to raise funds is a race against time, albeit one without a hard-and-fast deadline. 

“It is happening rather quickly, but it is a movable deadline,” Tyrell said. “If we got something really solid, he wants us to get it. I know he would work with me. He really wants us to buy.”

Tyrell would like to be able to give the owner an offer on the day of his 80th birthday party, planned for June 29. 

Although she was unable to attend due to being at the market, Tyrell said about 20 people went to a community meeting June 14 to brainstorm ideas for fundraising. She said that after the meeting, attendees came to the market and told her they had a plan to reach out to people who may be able to help. The group also shared plans for a nonprofit that could benefit the community. 

“People are looking into all different things. They just really want it to be something good,” Tyrell said. “It’s not even so much about saving my business. Everybody’s interested in our neighborhood and our thing, and what’s it going to be? What are we going to put out there?”

A market born from tragedy

The origin story of the Corner Market is deeply personal for Tyrell. In 1991, she and her family were exposed to Monsanto chemicals during a logging spray operation near their home in Eddyville, in Lincoln County near the Oregon coast. Her son Zoan was born five weeks early and died when he was three weeks old. 

“We all got really sick,” Tyrell said. 

The family pursued legal action against Monsanto that lasted years. 

“Not fun,” she said. 

After settling the case, Tyrell made a promise to “get Monsanto one way or another,” so from the small building that was already on site, she began selling organic food made from local ingredients, gradually adding more local produce and prepared foods over time. 

She operates the market in her son’s memory, with a mission to make organic, local food accessible to everyone in the community. Everything she sells must be grown within 100 miles. So shoppers won’t find Eugene-based Surata tofu on market shelves, because the soybeans are not local, but tempeh made from locally grown garbanzo beans is available. The market sells a variety of fresh produce, prepared foods, frozen meats, breads, and other locally made and locally grown items. 

“Because everything is local, all our money goes back into the community,” said employee Jazzy Henderson, who has worked at the market for 11 years.  

More than just a store

Henderson shared stories of the market donating food to families dealing with cancer, connecting people with resources they need, and helping transient community members. Tyrell and Henderson say many people first start shopping at the Corner Market when they get a cancer diagnosis and their doctor tells them to shift their diet to organic produce. 

“A little girl had cancer, she was 6 years old,” said Henderson. “We donated food to that family while she was going through chemo and they still shop with us. She’s 16 now.”

Joan Connolly, a longtime River Road resident who was shopping there, expressed frustration at the prospect of losing the Corner Market. 

“I’m not happy with the idea of this being a mini market,” Connolly said. “This market actually serves the community.”

Connolly highlighted how the Corner Market creates “great links to individual neighbors.” One neighbor sells her excess asparagus at the market. Another neighbor regularly takes advantage of the nearby bike paths and bikes to the market for her produce. Many people enjoy walking through the garden adjacent to the parking lot.

The numbers game

Tyrell has secured private funds totalling about $290,000 toward the purchase of the land, but she needs significantly more. The challenge is compounded by interest from other developers, including a group who purchased a lot directly across the street with plans to build a vape shop. 

Despite the pressure, Tyrell remains optimistic. 

“I feel like something good will happen,” she said. “I feel like there’s been such community support.”

The Corner Market has created a GoFundMe campaign to collect donations. As of the afternoon of June 16, the market has collected $7,665 out of a $135,000 goal.
https://www.gofundme.com/f/save-the-gateway-to-the-garden-district-the-og-corner-marke

The Corner Market
https://www.facebook.com/p/The-OG-Corner-Market-100063473413303
295 River Road
541-607-4762