St. Vincent de Paul opens new retail location in Cottage Grove after 25-year absence

Hannarose McGuinness, Eugene Register-Guard
·2 min read
People gather outside of the new St. Vincent de Paul retail location at 910 Row River Road in Cottage Grove on Thursday morning to celebrate the grand opening.
People gather outside of the new St. Vincent de Paul retail location at 910 Row River Road in Cottage Grove on Thursday morning to celebrate the grand opening.

St. Vincent de Paul’s newest retail location has opened at 910 Row River Road in Cottage Grove.

The building includes 15,485 square feet of retail space and 4,230 square feet for materials sorting and storage. The store is expected to employ 15 full-time staff members and is St. Vincent de Paul's southernmost retail location in Oregon.

The agency’s return to Cottage Grove was long awaited, Bethany Cartledge, executive director of St. Vincent de Paul of Lane County, said during a Thursday grand opening. St. Vincent de Paul operated a store in Cottage Grove at two separate locations between 1986 and 2000.

Employees help customers check out shortly after the grand opening of the Cottage Grove St. Vincent de Paul retail location on Thursday morning.
Employees help customers check out shortly after the grand opening of the Cottage Grove St. Vincent de Paul retail location on Thursday morning.

Despite not having a store in Cottage Grove for the past 25 years, St. Vincent de Paul has been furthering local affordable-housing efforts. Housing projects supported by St. Vincent de Paul include the openings of Omer Apartments in 1994 and Corey Commons in 2003 along with the rehabilitation of Saginaw Mobile Home Park in 2018.

“St. Vincent de Paul is a community organization who has a strong value for people and we support the community with support from the community,” she said.

Cottage Grove Mayor Candace Solesbee spoke on the neighborly nature of Cottage Grove, where she said you can’t drive down the street without getting a friendly wave or honk from a fellow community member.

“It’s a great honor to welcome this organization into our community," Solesbee said.

St. Vincent de Paul of Lane County celebrates opening a new retail location in Cottage Grove on Thursday morning with opening remarks presented by Executive Director Bethany Cartledge.
St. Vincent de Paul of Lane County celebrates opening a new retail location in Cottage Grove on Thursday morning with opening remarks presented by Executive Director Bethany Cartledge.

Solesbee cut the grand opening ribbon alongside Justin Schmick, St. Vincent de Paul's board chair, and Shannon Rockwell, director of stores. Schmick and Rockwell held the front doors open as about 50 eager shoppers poured into the building for the first time.

To kick off opening weekend, the store is offering a half-price sale on all books, clothing and new Zinus furniture and beds until 6 p.m. Sunday.

Hannarose McGuinness is The Register-Guard’s growth and development reporter. Contact her at 541-844-9859 or hmcguinness@registerguard.com

This article originally appeared on Register-Guard: St. Vincent de Paul opens new retail location in Cottage Grove