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- Subscribe - Contact Us - Rate Card - Place an Ad Archives Revels Classifieds Real Estate Guide Weather Subscribe Contact Us February 28, 2005 Essentially Ashland Lithia Grocery sparks a change Lance Pugh It was a warm summer day in 1973 as gaggles of tourists sniffed around the Plaza in the perpetual search for gifts and sustenance. At precisely 11 a.m., the deli counter at Lithia Grocery, 47 N. Main St., began serving an array of vegetarian sandwiches, soups, salads and fresh Pyramid Juice. The most ordered item was the Super Deluxe Avocado and Cheese sandwich. This was built upon two large slices of freshly baked Manna Bakery bread and topped with sprouts and soybean nuts. The line quickly grew as hands blurred behind the counter in an impossible attempt to keep abreast with the ordering. While waiting for their food, customers wandered along the shelves, which were loaded with ginseng, bee pollen, fresh fruit bars, kerosene lanterns, Dr. Bronner's soap, loofah sponges, Celestial Seasonings teas and Birkenstocks. Fresh hand-cranked ice cream was sold on the back porch by Ashland Creek. This eclectic mixture caught the eye of the theatergoers and soon the business routinely had a 20- to 30-person line going out the door. My wife, Annette, and I bought Lithia Grocery in 1972, converting it from small town Mom and Pop grocery (Wonder Bread, Frozen TV dinners, licorice sticks and canned vegetables) to a counter-culture deli and bazaar. Local artwork on the walls and music, usually provided by the long-time duo Steve and Ellen, weaving through the whole made for a unique experience. When we came to town, nearly half the shops were boarded shut and the festival ran a summer-only program. Times were lean and it took a flood of hippies to get things rolling. Brooks Hodap was busy making belts at Nimbus and Matt Frey was hard at work with Rare Earth. Jack Gaviglio and Jim Terelli would soon come and re-christen the Log Cabin as ... the Log Cabin, though in this incarnation red-necked hippies on Harleys would dominate the scene. It was a wild and crazy time on the Plaza, where members of communes, survivalists, Hippies on Hogs and the townfolk in general all gathered on the Plaza to wonder at the many looks of humankind. We installed a Camp White potbelly stove, which kept us warm throughout the winter. The only drawback was cutting, stacking and delivering 30 cords of wood per year and starting the fire at 5:30 every morning. Payback time was when freezing rain coated the Plaza and I sat, after the lunch rush, in a rocking chair next to the stove, drinking Mu tea. A separate venture calling itself the Plaza Caf� soon joined us to serve breakfast and became famous for their "Design Your Own Omelets," served with home fries topped with Annette's Lithia Blend. The food was very good, the portions prodigious and once again ... standing room only. The third venture came onboard, calling itself "La Tortilla." This enterprise depended on the whipping wrist of Leslie Pollock (Queen of the Fluffy Rellenos), who made the rellenos incredibly tall and tasty. The word quickly spread and, not to my surprise ... standing room only. Jim Gault worked the line while Leslie dazzled the room with her vivacious smile and contagious good mood. Curt Anderson couldn't let things be, so he opened up an after-theater espresso and desert offering that began as the theater let out and kept open until the last merry maker managed an escape. Under these multiple organizations, we were open from 6 a.m. to 2 a.m. The last person to leave had to dodge the breakfast prep cook, who knew that it was never too early to get things staged for the day's gastric play. Ashland had become the focus of the counter-culture in Southern Oregon. Weekly and monthly visitations by commune members from Hilt to Takilma swept into the Plaza to socialize. Plenty of locals had their blood pressure raised by the sight of loincloths, buckskins and diaphanous gowns. There were no "wardrobe malfunctions" then, everything was intentional. We worked at Lithia Grocery 360 days a year for 7 years, then sold it. It became Tommy's for several years and is now named, again, The Plaza Caf�. Future columns will focus on many downtown businesses that have helped make Ashland unique. Nimbus, Rare Earth, Alex's, Brothers and the Log Cabin will lead the charge from decades ago to lend perspective to the revival of the downtown. Send your favorite remembrances to: [email protected]. Drop by my blog and help me figure things out: essentiallyashland.blogspot.com. DailyTidings.com Home Page Archives | Revels | Classifieds | Real Estate Guide | Weather | Subscribe | Contact Us Copyright 2005 Ashland Daily Tidings and Ottaway Newspapers All Rights Reserved Slippers Women's & Men's Slippers Ceramic Piggy Banks heloc libor rate Calenders 2005 Calender 2005 Accelerate Weightloss Products Memory Foam Mattress afsa studentloans home equity loans teleconferencing W2 Forms fasa student loans Matchmaking & Dating Scripts African Safari Conference Calls - $50/Month Security Systems student loan consolidation wholesale diamonds Currancy Exchange web conferencing Online Casinos Community Click Here Site Search: .:Advertisements:. RESOURCES - Mail Tribune News - ODOT Road Cams