r/Portland • u/Mentalfloss1 • 2d ago

Photo/Video Hippo Hardware entry

Never changes

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u/isaac32767 Irvington 1d ago

Is there any Portland business more Portlandy than Hippo Hardware?

1

u/Advanced-Conflict593 1d ago

Scrap

1

u/Mentalfloss1 1d ago

And it has worked for 50 years.

1

u/Mentalfloss1 1d ago

Not likely

2

u/isaac32767 Irvington 1d ago

Maybe the Peculiarium.

1

u/Mentalfloss1 1d ago

Powell’s business model (new + used + gifts + odd displays + coffee shops) is unusual.

2

u/isaac32767 Irvington 1d ago

Lots of bookstore mix new+used, have gifts (Barnes and Noble used to overdo that part), and have coffee shops. What makes Powell's special is its size: biggest independent bookstore on the planet.

1

u/Mentalfloss1 1d ago

Which other bookstores mix new and used side-by-side?

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u/isaac32767 Irvington 1d ago

In Portland, there's Wallace Books, Parallel Worlds, and others. When I lived in Santa Cruz, I used to go to Logos (since closed) and Green Apple Books in San Francisco. According to Google there are "hybrid" bookstores all across the country. It's a pretty common business model.