On Wednesday, August 5, New Seasons Markets opens its seventeenth store in the Slabtown district at 2170 NW Raleigh St. The Slabtown store is the locally owned chain's first location in Northwest Portland, and as with every new store the company debuts, the latest comes with a host of new features (though it will be hard to beat Grant Park's Toast Bar).

In addition to design details like reclaimed fir, massive skylights, an outdoor living wall (above), and lumber-inspired wood slices around the 28,000-square-foot store, Slabtown shoppers can look forward to a new ramen bar, a Latin American grill offering gluten-free arepas,  12-seat wine bar pouring bottles from Oregon, Washington, and the best international wine regions—with plenty of small-plate pairing snacks like risotto cakes with marinara sauce and samosas with tamarind chutney—as well as new products from New Seasons' Local Finds program and a new collaborative line of co-branded products under the New Seasons Market label (like dried pasta from Tabla's Adam Berger and a “Slabtown Celebration” strawberry ice cream sandwich made by Ruby Jewel and featuring Willamette Valley Fruit Company berries).

Welcome the new store to the neighborhood with two days of Grand Opening festivities—on Wednesday, August 5 and Saturday, August 8—including giveaways, free samples of local melons, seafood, salt, ice cream, cheese, beer, coffee, and more:

Wednesday, Aug. 5

• 10 am: A traditional bread breaking for the whole neighborhood featuring local nonprofits, vendor partners and New Seasons leadership. Smith Teamaker Fez Green Tea will be sampled.
• 11:30 am: Farmer Mike Hessel of Red Hat Melons and New Seasons’ Chris Harris will give away a limited supply of free melons from the farm's red truck in the parking lot.
• 3 pm: Meet the vendor partners and sample products from Honey Mama’s raw nectar fudge, Ancient Heritage cheeses, and Bridgeport Brewing.

Saturday, Aug. 8

• 10 am-4 pm: Taste and learn how to cook seafood with free samples of five different types of  wild salmon and four types of oysters; whole salmon will be available for purchase and Ekone Oyster Company farmers will be grilling oysters and answering questions about sustainable shellfish.
• 1-3 pm: The Jacobsen Salt team will be sampling and sharing their story.
• 3-6 pm: Olympia Provisions will sample and discuss their start and long-time relationship with New Seasons.
• 4:30-6:30 pm: Ruby Jewel will serve up limited edition “Slabtown Celebration” ice cream sandwiches while Stumptown samples cold brew and Timbers 1975 blend coffee. Shoppers can snap a photo with chainsaw-toting “Timber Joey” and sample Golazo Energy Drink in the parking lot and then taste Widmer Brothers beer inside the store.