Pacific Way Natural Foods opened in Gearhart last month. The new grocery may be unique among the region’s health food establishments.
For one thing, it’s probably the only Lower Columbia natural foods emporium owned and operated by a doctor – Gearhart chiropractor Theo Woods.
Dr. Woods also owns the Pacific Way Wellness Center next door. She hung out her shingle there in 1999, and the practice has since flourished. She always had the dream of opening a store however, where people could buy the kinds of healthful foods she recommends.
On Valentine’s Day that dream came true, when Woods opened Pacific Way Natural Foods in the adjoining storefront.
The business seems like a natural extension of something Woods has done for years on a smaller scale. The Wellness Center has always offered a selection of herbs and vitamins in the waiting room. Now that inventory will transfer to the store.
The new enterprise is a family affair: Woods’ daughter Yarrow Park is store manager. A week before Pacific Way Natural Foods opened, a stroll through the store with both women ended when Woods ducked out to return to patients in her busy practice.
In continuing the tour with Park, the cheerful space revealed beautiful displays that seemed to radiate health – colorful rows of organic spaghetti sauce, almond butter, pet food, cold-pressed organic oils.
Cardboard boxes full of supplies and products dotted the floor, destined for displays still taking shape in anticipation of opening day. A wall of herbs and teas beckoned, along with a deli counter at the rear of the store.
"My mom’s really into nutrition," Park said, ripping open a box. "It stems from a love of food - my whole family loves it. We just like to eat."
There’s something else that sets Pacific Way apart from other health food stores. While most natural foods businesses tend to at least indirectly espouse a vegetarian lifestyle, Woods and Park share an enthusiastic attitude about eating meat. That philosophy is reflected in the store’s varied inventory of free-range selections.
Their belief in the value of meat in a healthy diet was inspired by the research of 19th century dentist Weston Price. Price traveled the world studying the connection between diet and health in aboriginal cultures. He found that the healthiest people ate a broad range of simply-prepared whole foods, both animal and vegetable.
That’s why Pacific Way’s grocery and culinary offerings will feature little or no processing.
"Every time food goes through a process it loses something," said Park. She’s worked hard to find the nearby Northwest farmers and distributors whose products stock the store. "And if we can get it from local people, that’s one less rung on the ladder."
For hungry customers, the deli will offer homemade soups, sandwiches, and smoothies for the lunch crowd. Eventually they hope to have take-home entrees, such as ready-to-cook, easy stir-fry meals available.
Above all, Pacific Way’s credo is to take the anguish out of eating – dieting, fat, and cholesterol among other worries. "We want to help people feel better about food," Park said.
Pacific Way Natural Foods is located at 1289 Pacific Way in Gearhart, at the Gearhart traffic light on Hwy 101. Store hours are Mon. through Sat., 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Sun. 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Call the store at (503) 738-4238.