Main Street Mavericks Day Two: Meeting Cannon Beach’s Small Businesses

On day two of the Main Street Mavericks road trip across Oregon, Kendall and I made our way to the North Coast of Oregon. Most of our scheduled businesses were in Cannon Beach, the iconic town with the giant Haystack Rock as its landmark. These businesses provided a lens of what it’s like to work in a tourist town and the specific challenges related to the ebb and flow of tourism.

Main Street Mavericks Day One Recap

To learn who the Main Street Mavericks are and what road trip we’re on, head on over to our Day One Main Street Mavericks Blog to learn all about us and our adventures around Oregon! We are on a mission to meet as many small businesses in Oregon as possible on a six-day road trip across Oregon. We’re coming to Cannon Beach from Portland.

Day Two: Oregon’s North Coast

High Life Adventures

Our first stop of the day was at High Life Adventures in Warrenton, just south of Astoria, Oregon — the northernmost tip of Oregon. This family-run zipline park is a true testament to bringing your vision to life. Kendall and I got to hop on a cart and get a tour, although, we’ll have to come back to try the ziplines.

Read and watch our High Life Adventure spotlight.

Lunch

As recommended by High Life, we ventured into Seaside to have lunch at Tsunami Sandwich Company. Warm and toasty sandwiches just one block from the ocean.

Bruce’s Candy Kitchen

An iconic staple of Cannon Beach, we were so excited to be invited to the actual candy kitchen to watch third-generation candy makers at Bruce’s Candy Kitchen in their element.

Read and watch our Bruce’s Candy Kitchen spotlight.

Bodega Taproom

Recommended to us by Bruce’s, we then ventured to the brand new Bodega Taproom to meet the owner there and have a quick mid-day refreshment.

Cannon Beach Leather Company

Next, we met small business owner Egrane Brown who took over running Cannon Beach Leather from her mother, who had built quite a business and a following over the years.

Basalt

After that, we popped over to the adorable and eclectic Basalt Studio to chat with owner Michelle Valigura. We learned that her most-asked question is, “Where is your kiln?” So, she had stickers made that say, “My kiln is offsite,” so she can provide a quick answer.

Dinner

We went to Shelbi’s favorite late night spot in Cannon Beach for dinner, the Driftwood Restaurant and Lounge.

Stayed At

It’s easy to stay small in Cannon Beach as the city doesn’t have any big corporate chains encroaching on their space. We stayed at the family-run Tolovana Inn. Kendall’s room had a gorgeous view of the ocean! (Shelbi’s room was still nice but had a view of the pet relief area.)

Join Us Next In …

Next up, we’re headed to Corvallis.