A floundering Portland-area grocery chain may be nearing its end as Market of Choice seeks to buy out its last remaining store.
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Basics Market has experienced a rapid rise and fall in the eight years since Chuck Eggert, founder and former co-owner of Tualatin-based Pacific Foods, opened its first store in 2018. Its largest location — a 40,000-square-foot store in Aloha — closed in 2024 after less than two years, leaving behind just one remaining grocery.
Now, that store, located at 6344 S.W. Capitol Highway in Portland’s Hillsdale Shopping Center, is also on the verge of closing.
Market of Choice announced Friday that it had signed a letter of intent to buy the Hillsdale Basics Market and turn it into a small-format grocery of its own.
“Basics Market has built something special by staying committed to serving the Hillsdale community, delivering exceptional high-quality food, and investing in an outstanding team,” Market of Choice President Zach Wright said in a news release. “Those values closely mirror our own, and we’re excited to build on that strong foundation.”
Eggert approached the Eugene-based grocery chain, which currently operates 12 stores in Oregon, as an organization that shared Basics Market’s values, he said in the release.
“The legacy of Rick Wright and now the continued leadership from Zach make Market of Choice the perfect fit on every level,” he said.
Basics Market’s flagship on Northeast Sandy Boulevard closed in 2022, citing difficulty attracting customers due to its small footprint and limited product offerings. By 2020, the chain operated six stores across Portland, Beaverton and Tualatin. The latter shuttered after two years in 2021, and a Pearl District location closed in 2022 due to “ongoing security and theft issues.”
The Hillsdale location was the chain’s fourth, opened in February 2020.
If the sale goes through, Market of Choice plans to retain current staff at the Hillsdale store, according to the release. The transition is estimated to take no more than 90 days once the contract is approved.
“With all necessary equipment and a great team already in place, we will be able to take over and continue serving the community with minimal disruption,” Wright said in the release. “It’s really a win-win for everyone.”
Market of Choice was previously in talks to buy and open a small-format grocer at the site of Food Front’s shuttered grocery co-op in Northwest Portland but abandoned the bid in August.
