Pioneer Way may not be a rainbow, especially in its current state, but it’s not stopping an Oak Harbor business woman from trying to turn a vacant downtown storefront into her very own pot of gold.
And if all it takes is a little hard work and some good old fashioned Irish luck, then Cat MacRury-Gilbert is sitting in pretty good shape. Whether it’s her red hair, quick to laugh personality or her van, which has the words “Leprechaun express” sprawled across the hood in large green letters, it’s clear that Irish is one thing she has in plentiful supply.
“People love my van,” MacRury-Gilbert laughed. “I’ll be driving down the road and people will point and take pictures.”
MacRury-Gilbert recently moved what had been an on-the-road business into the vacant storefront between Mr. Music and Popsies Gourmet Popcorn on SE Pioneer Way. The new store, All Things Irish, is open from 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., seven days a week.
MacRury-Gilbert has been selling Irish cultural merchandise — everything from T-shirts to jewelry — for years. She’s had storefronts in towns ranging from Colorado to Anacortes but has also spent years selling her wares at various trade shows and events across the country.
MacRury-Gilbert says she sort of fell into this storefront after renting the place for a week for the St. Patrick’s Day Parade. With a little convincing from a good friend, Oak Harbor resident Edna Van Noort, MacRury-Gilbert agreed to leave the open road behind.
The SE Pioneer Way improvement project has a lot to do with her decision. She saw a very successful one-way road conversion project in Grand Junction, Colo., in the 1970s and has high hopes for a similar result here.
“It brought the old main avenue back to life,” she said.
MacRury-Gilbert owns the store, but is partnering with Van Noort. A retired equine therapist, Van Noort will run the store two days a week and will also host self-empowerment classes. A schedule has yet to be established but they will likely be held several times a week and will be free to the public.
The grand opening is today and was scheduled to coincide with an open house for Whidbey Wild Bird. Bob and Claudia Olson recently purchased the store from longtime shop owners Phil and Lydia Sikes. The Sikes sold the store to retire.
The Olsons, who have lived in Oak Harbor for the past 34 years, have wanted their own avian supply store for more than 20 years. For a variety of reasons, their dream couldn’t be realized until February when they sealed the deal with the Sikes.
Bob Olson said their desire to own such a store doesn’t just stem from their long love of bird watching but also for kites.
“We like things that fly,” he said with a smile.
Like MacRury-Gilbert, the Olsons have a very positive outlook for the future of Pioneer Way. While neither were going to let something like traffic direction stand in the way of their dream, both believe the improvement project will be success.
