Sisters’ ‘hidden’ economy has a big footprint

Most visitors to Sisters enjoy walking Cascade, Hood, and Main Avenues, exploring shops and galleries and sampling the wares of restaurants, delis and food carts. They might be forgiven for thinking that Sisters’ economy is that of your typical tourist town.

But for many years, a “hidden” economy has been perking away, just off the beaten path in Sisters’ light industrial parks on the north end of town. And in the past couple of years, Sisters’ cadre of “makers” has expanded its footprint and made an impression in the traded sector well beyond this small town.

Preston Thompson Guitars has been producing instruments (many in the hands of top-tier musicians) in Sisters since 2013.

Preston Thompson Guitars

Nestled right in town, next to The Belfry, which is a regionally well-known music venue, is the shop of Preston Thompson Guitars. The late Preston Thompson founded the company in Sisters in 2013, returning to a lifelong passion for recreating the legendary sound of “golden age” (1929-1939) Martin guitars. The company is thriving, despite the tragic passing of its founder in 2019.

The company employs 10 builders, plus general manager Christine Funk. They produced 140 custom guitars in 2020. Many of those instruments are in the hands of top-tier musicians. Others appeal to collectors and to hobbyist musicians who take their playing seriously.

According to Funk, the coronavirus pandemic “slowed us down — and gave us a lot more orders.”

Complying with distancing requirements in a small shop was responsible for the slowdown. People reassessing what they want in life had a hand in increasing orders. People who always wanted a fine, custom instrument decided to no longer defer the desire.

“We also had the Billy Strings Signature Model, which was a limited edition,” Funk said. “We made 33 of them.”

Launched in March 2020, they sold almost all of them in that year.

Funk said the company would like to hire one more person and expand their custom inlay offerings. But they have no ambitions to get “big”.

“We’re really a custom shop,” Funk said. “We don’t want to get really big.”

And they intend to stay that way. The goal is to have the capacity of producing 200 custom guitars in a year, for the most discerning of players.

For more information, visit www.pktguitars.com.

Kibak Tile is a second-generation family businesses producing beautiful tiles for residential and commercial clients.

Kibak Tile

Kibak Tile employs seven people in a custom tile business that has its roots in the artistic designs of Susanne Kibak-Redfield. The company is owned and operated by Redfield’s daughter Carli and son-in-law Will Strachan, so it’s a second-generation family business — third generation if you account for the artistic bent, work ethic and fearlessness Susanne’s mother, Gudrun, imparted to her daughter.

“We work on residential and commercial projects with madeto-order pieces,” Carli said.

The tiles are designed, glazed and fired on-site at Kibak’s facility in the Sun Ranch Business Park.

Strachan said that the past year has been exceptionally busy. Peoples’ time in their homes and a desire to create a desirable space has made for high demand for backsplashes, bathroom floors and indooroutdoor applications.

For more information, visit www.kibaktile.com.

Sisters Coffee Co.

Sisters Coffee Co.’s lodgestyle coffeehouse on Hood Avenue is a destination stop for visitors to Sisters — but the magic happens where the beans are roasted. Next fall, Sisters Coffee Co. will break ground on a new 11,000-square-foot roasting facility on Lot No. 3 at Sun Ranch Business Park.

“We’ve grown enough to where we need to expand our roasting capacity,” said CEO Justin Durham.

Expanded significantly — as in quadrupled.

“We’ll be in the millions of pounds,” Durham said. “It’s hard to say exactly.”

That need for capacity is driven by two thriving coffeehouses — one here and one in the Pearl District in Portland — and a significant wholesale business. And it all grew from a tiny coffee bar founded by Winfield and Joy Durham on Hood Avenue.

The roaster that will handle those millions of pounds — a 45 kilo Probat G45 — is now under construction in Germany.

“It’s our dream roaster,” Durham said. “Can’t wait to get it here. They’re like the MercedesBenz of roasters.”

Holy Kakow

Holy Kakow, a Portland-based craft food maker of chocolate syrup, coffee syrups and cacao powder has relocated to Sisters.

They are taking up 5,000 square feet in the nearly completed structure at 260 E. Sun Ranch Dr. The mostly steelsided building, developed by Art Blumenkron, features 17,000 square feet of light industrial on the ground floor and three apartments on a second level.

Holy Kakow will start with seven employees: Wyatt Woods, the founder and owner, and six others, two from Portland and the rest new hires. Most products are made by hand in 25-gallon batches. However, it’s a lot of batches. Woods’ firm sells in all 50 states.

Locally, Holy Kakow’s syrups are used at Sisters Coffee Co., Suttle Tea, Sisters Bakery, and Oliver Lemon’s. They are certified organic both at the source — Peru — and at the point of blending.

For more information, visit www.holykakow.com.

Development of “craft” industries that fit the culture of Sisters has been a vision and mission for the Sisters community for many years. A primary driver of that effort is Economic Development for Central Oregon, and Sisters representative Caprielle FooteLewis. For information, visit www.edcoinfo.com/.