The salt-water bivalves pictured here are from Oregon Oyster Farm – not technically a current partner of the North Coast Food Trail. To be accurate the North Coast Food Trail is “A partnership between three regions of Oregon’s shoreline, the Food Trail brings together the best of the tasty and rugged (and tastefully rugged) food-related fun from Cannon Beach, the Tillamook Coast and Lincoln City.”
Jesse Dolin, OCVA’s Central Coast Destination Development Coordinator tells me the Central Coast Food Trail has been “under construction” and that we may see it launched as soon as May.
C’mon… Can you smell it? Can you taste it? Sometimes the photo does the experience justice. Oysters. Butter. Garlic. It’s beautiful simplicity. Although, shucking can be a little tricky; Good to take one’s time doing that part of the process.
As we begin to enter the “next normal” and considering it’s spring break (wish I was breaking) I thought I might highlight the Oregon Food Trail concept. It helps to have the websites and the social medias to explore options, ponder interesting excursions and culinary personalities.
Recently, we blazed a very short trail not too far from our home near Oregon Oyster Farms. It had been awhile since we grilled oysters and finished them on the half shell with garlic butter.
DAMN! It was sooooooo good. It provided a #pnwoderland moment that was compounded by the fact that I had not realized how much I needed it! So satisfying.
Looking forward to trying new oyster species. A lifetime, really, I have eaten Yaquina Bay’s provisions. Time to experiment. Gonna blaze a new food trail. So, what will a Netart’s Bay oyster taste like? Curious and excited. Have grill. Will travel.
A bonus was having Reed add oysters to his grilling (and now shucking) repertoire. The grilling operation was also an interesting point of focus for our outside gathering. I loved it so. It reminds of parties many years ago where designated bodies crank out grilled oysters on the half shell – afternoon sliding into night.
The whole experience got me pumped for the next round. So, I tapped the Northwest Food Trail for possible seafood providers for our next grilling session. Possible option… “JAndy Oyster Company has been growing oysters since 2012. The beach-grown oysters are raised in beautiful Netarts Bay, Oregon, and picked by hand.” I found Jandy on this handy dandy PDF brochure located on the Visit the Oregon Coast website.
Reed and Grandpa. They work well as a team. My group’s newbies to the grill/half-shell concept thought it rather time consuming and labor oriented. I can’t imagine it any other way. The one Aussie in the group was our biggest supporter.
I have heard rumors of an oysters farm/dock in South Beach Newport. But, not a lot of details. Keep you posted!
Oregon Coast Visitors Association: The North Coast Food Trail is a collaborative effort to connect people to the bounty available on Oregon’s North Coast. Supporting local food is a way to support our communities and the producers and crafters who work hard to grow and use our local ingredients.
Travel Oregon: The Oregon Food Trails program aims to cultivate innovative partnerships between culinary and agricultural businesses, strengthen local food economies and create unique experiences for visitors and locals alike.
“Ultralife Cafe was created to offer hearty & healthy food & drink options for people like us – always on the go but still craving nutrition & quality.” I know and believe this statement to be pure. Prior to their investment and launch of Ultralife I would often see Matt and Stephanie at Crossfit Newport. Matt was also a administrative pastor at SB, Pastor Luke is a trainer/athlete, Bo Douglas gets his Olympic lifting jam on, too: a social network of health, fitness, and nutrition.
I remember a party Matt hosted for Stephanie. It foreshadowed their skill set unknown to me at the time. The mixology, food stuff, and stylish ambiance was the tip of the iceberg, apparently. You don’t know what you don’t know about people and their drivers. Love, and love of creativity.
Unlike other businesses that emerge in our community my proximity to Stephanie and Matt has given me a few more details with which to observe the origins and genesis of Ultralife. The “nutrition and quality” component of their business model was one that was uncertain and enthusiastic. Would there be a large enough market for “clean eating” and further… vegan? Coffee, on the other hand, appears turnkey. According to Google, “Over 50% of Americans over 18 years of age drink coffee every day. This represents over 150 million daily drinkers. 30 million American adults drink specialty coffee beverages daily.”
I need my coffee. You undoubtedly NEED yours, too. However, If the quality between two businesses is comparable – sometimes it comes down to who has the shortest line at the drive through. Ultralife has managed to nail the recipes for consistency and uniqueness @ultralifecafe. One of my favorite drink discoveries is their green tea matcha latte. I prefer mine with hemp milk. Oatly (another dairy alternative) is equally delicious. I tried the Starbucks version, yesterday. Ultra has a big edge on this one, IMO.
Look at these beauties! During their Crossfit phase. They both share a zest for life and a recognition of Creation. Watching them establish and develop a local business has been super cool. Entrepreneurs unite!
The broader model of having SOMEWHERE to get quick, healthy food, is not that easy for the discerning. Granting, that “healthy” might be a matter of opinion. How would Ultralife fare and compete? Check out the menu. Try these creations. Believe. https://ultralifecafe.com/cafe-menu/ (I am looking forward to an audio interview with Matt and Stephanie so we can get down and dirty. What does it take? How is it going? More to come on this.) I wish I could offer more in regard to food cost and turn around time. I don’t have the data for a deeper case study. Nor have I remembered enough details to cite; Matt loves to talk about this stuff. So far, my taste buds have done the inspecting and they are remarkable good at contriving and making statements with food stuff.
What of this local thang? It’s a “more bang for the buck thang”. Simply put, the likelihood that investing with local businesses, such as Ultralife, in turn multiplies these dollars back into our immediate economic waveform. “One perspective of the local multiplier effect focuses on the greater local economic return generated by money spent at locally-owned independent businesses compared to corporate chains or other absentee-owned businesses.” – Wikipedia.
Ultralife is grass roots evidence of the multiplier phenomena. I love seeing it in action. With every new tweak to their business offerings I get excited that it might be the next and best variation to further solidify their permanence. It reminds me of a time long ago when my own success was much more dependent on this proof of concept. I was coming up. Hungry to evolve in local radio. I was also naïve with much to learn about marketing and advertising. In the late 90’s we were still pre internet. The idea that we might “put lipstick on a pig” was often SOP (especially) at the advertising agency level. This philosophical construct to marketing still holds true – some of the time. Glossy campaigns about lifestyles yet beholden motivate us to try and buy stuff. But, now more than ever, we want products and services that intrinsically authenticate our trajectory and desires. Innovation is a double-edged sword. “Minimalism” continues to trend. Seth Godin, says successful marketing, “Is about building trust, creating a connection, enabling an emotional bridge between your solution and the need that someone else has.”
This caught my eye as I was headed out the door last week. UL says this non-dairy creamer has been selling like bonkers. I used it this morning and it IS good. Cherity and I are stoked to have a travel friendly creamer. Thanks Ultralife!
When Ultralife dropped the Nye Beach location its was an opportunity to stretch their vision into an environment that would support a balance between their ideas and ours. Matt and Stephanie value community and interaction. They are social creatures. I love how there is complexity and simplicity to the hardware, the tables, the style and the environment. It’s a place that feels good to chill and talk. But, I suspect Matt would tell me that’s not the primary thing keeping the lights on. I presume, since the car is not idling, we can slow down a little and wait for our food to be served while watching the waves crash. We might take a little more time to find out just how much depth there is to the culinary side of Ultralife’s personality.
Ultralife’s decor and materials use is another fascination. The rustic implementation both practical and stylish. They take this savvy into their marketing, as well. The vibe is well done! Stephanie has always had an eye for design.
I encourage you to share your opinions and feedback with the delivery and construction of their goods. Not every business owner has the emotional resilience to process these inputs. Ultralife appears comfortable with symbiosis. Another aspect of their success, I believe, is their ability to move into this space and make the necessary adjustments while keeping their own vision vital. “Marketers make change. We change people from one emotional state to another. We take people on a journey; we help them become the person they’ve dreamed of becoming, a little bit at a time.” – Seth Godin
Cheers to supporting local and the continued success of Ul…! Ultralife Cafe.
