Longview's Hidden Treasure: Longview's Hidden Treasure....introducing Longview Produce!

I have fiddled around with idea of writing a different kind of blog for quite some time now. I've been curious as to what gives some of our local craftspeople their inspiration for doing what they do. I recently discovered a hidden treasure right under my nose here in town that I felt needed to be "discovered". I don't know if this idea of mine will pan out or not, but I enjoy learning about people anyway and thought I would pass that on to all of you. This is a first for me! I've never interviewed anyone before and went into this very nervous! But I found Mr. Ted Westby, the owner of Longview Produce to be extremely gracious and very open about his new business. And I found myself completely at ease with him by the end of our visit.
So without further ado, I would like to introduce Ted Westby, the owner of Longview's hidden treasure of a store, Longview Produce! His son makes the tye-dye shirts that you can see a glimpse of to the side of the photo!

I asked Ted what gave him the inspiration to open this produce store. He said that he used to own quite a few Subway restaurants (11 at one time) and was also in Izzy's and Taco del Mar...he found himself down to just 2 Subways and with the economy the way it was, he decided to go to work for someone else. That lasted just 6 months. Longview Produce was previously started by 2 partners and it was doomed from the start. The partnership dissoved and the store closed. Ted got the idea to re-open the produce stand and I, for one, am sure glad he did!

I love the fact that Ted features mostly locally grown produce in his store. I'm all for supporting our local economy. I asked him, "Where your market is located, there will be a super Walmart going in, basically across the street...do you think you'll be able to compete with them price-wise?" His answer was that he's not even going to try to! What he plans on doing is concentrating his main focus on all-local, organic produce that Walmart won't feature. Such as the spinach pictured below...Washington grown...all the way!

Ted doesn't just sell produce here either! His small refrigerator case has 6-packs of duck eggs, hand-crafted local chocolates (which are wonderful, by-the-way), organic coffee, organic honey, and a locally crafted cheeses. Now, those of you who know me, know that I can't stand the way goat cheese tastes! Someone put it on the Recipe Exchange once that goat cheese tastes like a goat smells and that analysis pretty well sums it up for me! Mr. Westby pulled 3 types of goat cheese out of his case and cut a piece off of each one for me to sample. I went into this sampling with a closed mind...I wasn't going to like it!! The first bite of the pepper jack goat cheese completely gave me a new outlook! It was some kind of wonderful...no hint of that musky, goaty taste...I had to ask again if that was goat cheese...and Ted assured me it was! He can ship these wonderful cheese via mail if anyone is interested. I'll leave his email at the end of this blog if any of you are interested in contacting him about that.

Ted said one reason he was drawn to this location (it's off the beaten path, just heading down into Longview's industrial area) was because of the wet case and I can see why this would be! It's fantastic! And the windows that run across the front of the store just really highlight this display!! What's not to like?

Another product that can be shipped is this wonderful pasta sauce. It comes in zesty or mild and with or without tuna. I sampled this yesterday when Bob and I went to the farmer's market...I had it over a sausage dog and I was in heaven! I am hoping to interview the makers of this sauce sometime in the future. I give this sauce 20 thumbs up, it's to die for!!

These are those windows that I was talking about above. I asked Ted if he planned on having people come in to give cooking demonstrations using this produce and he said he thought would be something he'd like to do. I added that would be a great idea on getting people into the store to buy his products and he emphasized that he was more interested in the social aspect of it all. I like his thinking!

I noticed that a lot of his products for sale were definately grown in the Pacific Northwest and, as a foodie, that is what I'm looking for...locally grown and organic! Ted explained to me that he uses the supplier that the old owners used and so far, they have been working out great for him. He also explained how he went about pricing the produce so he can make a profit. Mind you, I saw the paperwork, so I can tell you that he is NOT making a huge profit here! But his clientel is growing steadily and that's great!

Longview Produce sells organic coffees from around the world and these can be shipped via mail, as well...I'll be trying these, definately.

I, jokingly, asked if I could come and work here and he said that he would rather employ someone like me, who understands that there is a romance to food. That made me stop and think...and he's absolutely right...there IS a romance to food. If there wasn't, we wouldn't be as passionate as we are about it. Ted explained that he sees the romance in setting up the displays and also in promoting his inventory. If you're not a foodie, you wouldn't understand that, at all...but I completely get it! Look at the beauty and romance of this pepper display!

I asked Ted if he considers himself a good cook and his answer was yes and no...his favorite things to cook are pastas of all types. He also likes to make steak...medium-rare to rare. I think these tomatoes here would be awesome in a pasta sauce!

As you can see, there is a lot of room in this store for expansion...and I can't wait for that to happen! So, when you all read the Japan blog, just know that the carrots, the cabbage, the green onions...they all came from this wonderful hidden treasure of a store here in Longview.