What's that new business opening at the Willamette Heritage Center?
Project: Retail.
Location: 1313 Mill St. SE.
Description: A new retail store opening at the Willamette Heritage Center has shared history with the center, which also houses the Thomas Kay Woolen Mill.
Pendleton Woolen Mills will open next week at the Willamette Heritage Center.
“We are excited to have Pendleton Woolen Mills join us as our newest retail partner and are eager to 'welcome them home' to Salem,” Willamette Heritage Center executive director Michelle Cordova said. “With the overlapping history of our stories, it is a natural fit for them to join our restaurant partner and other retailers on our site. We look forward to continuing our relationship as we create new stories together at the Willamette Heritage Center.”
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Company officials said Pendleton Woolen Mills and the Willamette Heritage Center have been part of Oregon’s history for centuries, including some shared history through Thomas Kay, who established the state's woolen industry and founded Salem's woolen mill in 1896.
In 1909, Clarence, Roy and Chauncey Bishop, the grandsons of Thomas Kay, opened an idle mill in Pendleton. This mill would become Pendleton Woolen Mills.
“We are thrilled for this unique opportunity to join the Willamette Heritage Center and open the Pendleton Store,” John Bishop, Pendleton CEO and great-great-grandson of Thomas Lister Kay, said. “This new store marks the return of descendants of Thomas Kay to the site where his namesake mill was founded 133 years earlier.”
The new Pendleton Store will offer a selection of the iconic woolen blankets, apparel, accessories and gifts along with fabric cuts and exclusive mill materials for crafting with wool.
The grand opening celebrations begin May 4 with a ribbon-cutting at 11:30 a.m. led by the Salem Chamber of Commerce.
The celebrations culminate May 7 with the Willamette Heritage Center's Sheep to Shawl Festival, which will feature lawn games, live entertainment and children's activities.
Throughout the four-day grand opening celebrations, there will be free gifts and prize contests at the Pendleton Store.Store hours will be 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday.
Source: Pendleton Woolen Mills.
Is there something under construction you'd like to tell us about or find out more about? Contact reporter Whitney Woodworth at wmwoodworth@statesmanjournal.com, call 503-910-6616 or follow on Twitter @wmwoodworth.
This article originally appeared on Salem Statesman Journal: What's that new business opening at the Willamette Heritage Center?
