Newport Avenue Market Named Central Oregon’s Best Grocery Store for the 26th Time
Some awards recognize what a business sells. Others reflect what that business means to its community.
The Source Weekly has named Newport Avenue Market the 2026 Best Grocery Store in Central Oregon. This marks our 26th win in the category. We feel incredibly honored, grateful, and still a little amazed.
After all, Newport Avenue Market has never been just a place to buy groceries. For generations, we have been part of the rhythm of life in Bend.
Neighbors greet one another in the produce department. Longtime customers walk through the doors and see familiar faces. Meanwhile, employee-owners help people discover a new cheese, local beer, specialty ingredient, or unexpected favorite.
That sense of connection makes this recognition especially meaningful. Our community chose us, and this award belongs to everyone who has shaped Newport Avenue Market.
Nearly 50 Years of Feeding Central Oregon
Newport Avenue Market first opened in 1976. Then, in 1991, we moved into our current home on Newport Avenue.
Since then, Bend has grown and changed in remarkable ways. Newport has grown alongside it. However, our purpose has remained steady.
We want to offer an extraordinary grocery experience while caring for the people who make our work possible.
For nearly 50 years, customers have invited us into their everyday lives. They have trusted us with family dinners, holiday gatherings, backyard barbecues, and last-minute grocery runs.
In return, we have worked to make each visit feel personal. We want our customers to feel welcomed, known, and delighted by what they discover.
Proudly Employee-Owned for 11 Years
In 2015, Newport Avenue Market became Central Oregon’s first employee-owned grocery store through an Employee Stock Ownership Plan.
Now, in 2026, we proudly celebrate 11 years of employee ownership.
The people who stock our produce, arrange our flowers, and recommend the perfect bottle of wine own part of this business. So do the people who fill our shelves, bag groceries, create displays, and welcome customers by name.
Therefore, every purchase at Newport supports the people who serve you. It also helps build their retirement and strengthens their future.
Employee ownership gives our work a deeper meaning. When Newport succeeds, our employee-owners share in that success. More importantly, they help shape what the store becomes.
This model keeps ownership close to home. It also shows what local commerce can look like when a business belongs to its people and its place.
Celebrating 2026 in True Newport Style
Our anniversary year has already brought plenty of excitement.
Throughout 2026, we have given away a gold bar every month. Yes, an actual gold bar. After nearly 50 years, we decided that regular grocery-store giveaways needed a little more sparkle.
However, this year is about much more than celebration. It is also about giving back.
Newport Avenue Market is raising money for Family Kitchen and the Central Oregon Council on Aging’s Meals on Wheels program. In addition, we are matching donations up to $100,000.
These organizations help feed and care for our Central Oregon neighbors. We feel proud to support their essential work.
Community care also guides our everyday decisions. For example, we fill our shelves with products from local farmers, makers, and small businesses. We support community organizations and nurture partnerships that have grown over many years.
Together, those choices help keep resources and relationships rooted in Central Oregon.
Bringing the Best Back to Bend
Our love for this community sometimes takes our team far beyond Bend.
Newport team members travel across the country and around the world to discover remarkable products. Along the way, they meet farmers, tour factories, visit makers, and learn how people create the food we sell.
These trips involve much more than searching for the next new thing. Instead, we want to understand where products come from and who stands behind them.
For example, our team recently traveled to Italy to visit farms, factories, and food producers. They returned with new specialty products, fresh inspiration, and ideas for Newport’s housemade gelato.
Sometimes a trip leads to a new product on our shelves. Other times, it inspires a recipe, partnership, display, or customer experience.
Still, every discovery begins with the same question: Will our community love this?
Best Grocery Store for the 26th Time
Winning Best Grocery Store once would feel extraordinary. Receiving this honor for the 26th time leaves us deeply humbled.
This recognition reflects decades of trust. It also represents countless everyday moments of care.
Our employee-owners create those moments each day. They bring knowledge, creativity, humor, and heart to their work. Likewise, our farmers, makers, vendors, and community partners help make Newport what it is.
Most importantly, our customers continue to choose us.
Some families have shopped with us for generations. Others walked through our doors for the first time this year. Every visit matters, and every vote carries a story of connection.
Thank you for voting Newport Avenue Market the 2026 Best Grocery Store in Central Oregon. Thank you for supporting our employee-owners and believing in locally owned businesses.
Because of you, Newport Avenue Market remains more than a grocery store. It is a place of discovery, generosity, conversation, and belonging.
We feel proud to call Bend home. We feel honored to serve Central Oregon. And after 26 Best Grocery Store wins, we remain just as grateful as ever.
This award belongs to all of us.