Strohecker’s Market Closing

Lamb’s Strohecker’s Market Closing

When I first moved to Portland back in the mid 90’s, Strohecker’s Market was my favorite place to buy wine. I would take the stairs down to the wine cellar and talk to Wayne Strohecker for a good hour about everything wine. Since we had similar tastes, I trusted him to point me towards bottles I would love in their fast selection of wines. The upstairs section had items you couldn’t find anywhere else in town, and I did quite a bit of grocery shopping there too, as they had a good selection of cheese, deli items and a liquor store. For those of us who lived in the West Hills, it was a great component to the neighborhood.

Unfortunately, the store was purchased by Lamb’s Markets in 1996, and was never the same. The wine department moved up stairs and was considerably smaller. Without the influence of Wayne, many of the more interesting bottles disappeared, and I quit going altogether, trekking down the hill to other sources. In 2015, Strohecker’s was included in the purchase of Lamb’s by Bales Marketplace.

Now comes word that the Strohecker’s Market is closing after 114 years. The last day will be January 31st. Though I haven’t been in years, I have lots of good memories of the store, and am sad to see it go.