PDX: This Happened!

Fiona, Kat, Jim, Maggie in front of our lambs at PDX

Last week, the final airport store opened at PDX (spoiler: the Topaz Farm store!!!), wrapping up a decade-long construction project.

You can’t go to PDX Airport and not feel in awe. Their vision has made it one of the most relaxed and visually stunning airports in the country, but the real magic is how they did it. The wood ceiling, sourced from regeneratively grown forests. The living wall on the parking garage. And then the way they made it feel like a true piece of Portland, with places like Mo’s Chowder, Screen Door, Oven & Shaker, Loyal Legion, and right alongside them Powell’s, Pendleton, Tillamook… all these pieces that make Oregon feel like Oregon.

If you’ve flown recently, you can feel it the moment you step off the plane. You exhale a little. You’re home, and the airport feels like it too.

So how does a farm from Sauvie Island end up in the airport?

A couple years ago, we got an email from someone at WHSmith. You probably know WHSmith without realizing it. It’s that store in almost every airport where you grab a neck pillow or a phone charger. When their email came through, we almost deleted it, assuming it was spam. Why would they be reaching out to a farm?

Knowing how important “local” is to PDX, WHSmith partnered with Oregon businesses to showcase local products at the front of their stores, while still carrying the travel essentials they’re known for in the back. They’ve created concepts like People’s Portland, Washington Park, World Foods, and Hello Portland, each highlighting a different slice of the region.

Still, we dragged our feet. Putting our name on a store felt like a big commitment. But as the conversations continued, we started to see the opportunity. We could feature videos most of the time, showing what’s happening at the farm and sharing the bigger story of agriculture. We could sell products we already make, like jam, honey, and hats. We could connect travelers to Sauvie Island. And it could even create winter job opportunities for members of our team.

But more than that, it felt like a chance to bring farmland into a place where millions of people pass through every year.

Fast forward to yesterday.

Yesterday was the ribbon cutting for the Topaz Farm store. It’s located pre-security near Concourses B & C. We were honored to have our friends from Portland All Nations Canoe Family there to offer a blessing and help mark the moment. It was also incredible to meet so many of the people behind the vision of PDX. This redesign has been in the works for over a decade.

To be included alongside Powell’s, Pendleton, Tillamook, and all these iconic Oregon brands… it doesn’t feel real.

But what matters most to us is what this space can represent. For a lot of people, an airport might be the closest they get to Oregon farmland. It might be the first impression, or the last. It’s a chance to show that farming is still here, still evolving, still worth protecting.

We talk a lot about access to land and connection to where food comes from. This is another way to do that. To meet people where they are. To tell the story of what’s happening on Sauvie Island, and why it matters.

Because farms don’t just need to grow food, they need to stay visible. They need to stay connected to the public. And the more people who understand what’s at stake, the better chance farmland has of staying farmland.

If you’re passing through PDX, keep an eye out.

Because farmland doesn’t disappear all at once. It disappears when people stop seeing it, stop understanding it, and stop fighting for it.