Rude Rudy – The Heart of the Market

While he may not have realized it, the seed for foodie fame was planted long before Rudy, AKA Rude Rudy, founded Newport Avenue Market. From watching his parents run their own small grocery store as a child, to working in larger corporate stores in his youth, the food industry is practically part of his DNA.
Working up the literal food chain, Rudy got his first taste of management while at "Nameless Market" in Salem, Oregon. Eventually, Rudy opened his first store, Alpine Foods, in LaPine, and never looked back.

In 1993, Rudy remodeled and renamed a Food Value Store he owned in Bend and Newport Avenue Market was born. At the time, we were the only grocery store on Bend’s west side that offered customers the basics, with a hint of our current character. But, Rudy could sense change was on the horizon and holy shish kabob was he right.

"People were leaving the neighborhood to do their shopping and we wondered why... So, we started asking customers about what they wanted and we found out they were leaving to find specialty foods, organic items, things your typical grocery store didn’t handle," recalls Rudy.

In prompt response, Rudy began to build the unique, gourmet market we know and love today from the inside out.

"We started attending trade shows and food classes. I was also fortunate to hire some people who had experience with natural foods and food supplements…and I still remember the first time we brought this strange cheese – asiago cheese – into the store,” Rudy laughs. “From 1994 on, it’s just been a constant evolution."

Newport Avenue Market has continued to grow and change with our customers’ needs and requests to numerous public awards and industry acclaim. Every year since 1997, we’ve been voted the Best Independent Grocery Store of the Year by local TSWeekly readers. Additionally, the Bend Chamber of Commerce named the market Small Business of the Year in 1999.

Rudy, along with his team of department managers, attend numerous food and grocery trade shows and are constantly searching for the best new items available. "We try to be first, best or different and, if possible, all three," Rudy says when asked to explain the store’s philosophy.

In 2009, Rudy remodeled Newport Avenue Market a second time to finally bring the unique experience customers felt inside to be reflected on the outside. Hiring local builders and a muralist to complete the job, the Dory’s maintained their local style and provided jobs in the construction industry during a devastating economic time.

Looking back over the years, Rudy says that if there’s one thing he wants to be remembered for it’s being a fair employer who paid his employees as much as he could. "I've never wanted to be the richest guy in the graveyard," he says. As part of that effort, Newport Avenue Market is the only grocery store in Central Oregon that offers an "all employee" bonus program based on the entire store’s performance. Rudy, along with Newport Avenue Market, also offers abounding support to local non-profits.