Downtown Grants Pass Is Reshuffling Its Own Storefronts This Fall

Most of this fall's storefront news in downtown Grants Pass involves businesses that were already here. Partake now lists its address on SE 6th Street. Steam Distillery announced a move to SW 5th. Gallop 'n Glitz says it is changing downtown addresses too. The empty spaces are going to neighbors who are moving a few blocks, which means the downtown in your head may be a few doors off from the one on the sidewalk.

Here is where things stand heading into November, and when to go see them.

The new map, at a glance

Three of these five were already downtown and are changing or adding addresses. Only the bookstore and the shoe shop are new arrivals.

Partake takes over a 40-year jewelry address

The biggest move is also the most symbolic. The building at 221 SE 6th Street was King Jewelers for more than four decades. KOBI reported in March 2024 that the store would close, with a closeout sale from April 1 to May 11 that year.

Partake is the business filling it. Owner Patti Hillier told WhatNow in August that the 6th Street spot would be a wine shop, restaurant and lounge, the same format that built Partake's following on G Street, with an opening target of early to mid-October. WhatNow called it a second location. The Grants Pass Daily Courier, in an item summarized by the state's QualityInfo business news digest, called it a move into the former King Jewelers space.

Partake's own website now gives 221 SE 6th St as its address, and so does Visit Grants Pass. The posted hours split by room:

• Tasting room: Tuesday through Thursday, noon to 9 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, noon to 10 p.m.
• Lounge: Tuesday through Thursday, 4 to 9 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 4 to 10 p.m.
• Fine dining: same as the lounge, 4 to 9 p.m. midweek and 4 to 10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.

Sunday and Monday don't appear on the schedule. The menu draws on what made the original location popular: a rotating international wine list, seasonal cocktails, and a tasting menu led by Chef Justin Wolf, as WhatNow described it.

For anyone walking 6th Street, a jewelry counter has become a place to stay for the evening. A storefront that drew a few minutes of shopping now has people inside until 10 p.m. on weekends.

234 SW 5th Street is a building between tenants

Two blocks over, the former Horny Goat Gastro Pub at 234 SW 5th Street shows how these handoffs work in practice. The Courier reported on September 23 that Steam Distillery would move there from G Street "over the coming weeks," per QualityInfo's summary. Visit Grants Pass already lists Steam at the 5th Street address. Steam's own site still shows 505 SW G St, so a quick call before you go will save you a walk.

In the meantime, the building got an early run. At a special meeting on September 28, city staff described 234 SW 5th as a site "transitioning tenants," and the City Council unanimously approved a lease letting Weekend Beer Company serve there during Art Along the Rogue, according to the meeting summary on Citizen Portal. The plan called for one 5-by-8 tap trailer with four taps, seating for roughly 30 to 50 people, and food from Dash Bakery. Taps would go in part of the alley where they wouldn't block foot traffic. Steam co-owner Scott Davis said he was willing to sign the lease and that the building's landlord approved.

That arrangement covered the festival weekend, not a permanent tenant. Still, a brewery, a distillery and a bakery sharing one address for one weekend says a lot about how this fall's moves are working. The partners are local businesses, and the space stayed in use while one tenant was leaving and the next was arriving.

The festival they served was a strong one. The city's recap said the 23rd annual Art Along the Rogue brought 40 artists to the Historic District over three days, October 2 through 4, under the theme "Reflections."

The spaces being left behind

Each of these changes leaves an older address to watch next.

1. 111 SE G St, Partake's original home. WhatNow's August report described 6th Street as an addition and the Courier described it as a move, so what happens to the G Street room is still an open question. The website now shows only the 6th Street address.
2. 505 SW G St, Steam Distillery's longtime address. No new tenant has been announced.
3. 224 SW 6th St, where Gallop 'n Glitz has been. The Courier reported on October 7 that the women's boutique would move to another downtown location, per QualityInfo, and the shop's site still lists 6th Street for now.

If this fall's pattern continues, the next tenants may also come from a few blocks away rather than from out of town.

The genuinely new doors

Two downtown businesses this fall are actual arrivals rather than moves.

The Book Burrow, a secondhand bookstore at 221 NW 5th Street, held a soft opening on Saturday, August 8, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., with a grand opening planned for September, KOBI reported.

Rogue Sole & Style is at 229 SW G Street, Suite A, according to its website. The Daily Courier ran it in August under the headline "Rogue Sole and Style gets comfy downtown."

Farther from the core, the Courier also reported in late September, per QualityInfo, that 808 Ohana Grindz is changing owners and becoming OG Poke Grants Pass, that The Way Pottery and Art Studio is opening with paint-your-own pottery, sip-and-paint classes and rentable event rooms, and that True Juice is adding a second location at Asante Three Rivers Immediate Outpatient Care Center.

When to walk it

The new map is easiest to learn on foot, and the stretch from Halloween to the Christmas Parade gives you several reasons to be downtown in the evening. Visit Grants Pass describes First Friday as a monthly downtown night when businesses stay open late, so those are the dates to see the new layout with the lights on.

The parade route runs past Partake's new address and within a block of Gallop 'n Glitz's current one, so December 12 works as a tour of the 6th Street changes too. To fit all three addresses into one First Friday loop, start at Partake on SE 6th, cross to SW 5th to check on 234, then head down G Street past Steam's old address at 505 to Rogue Sole & Style at 229.

If you're driving an electric car, the city recently replaced the outdated Blink charger at the Welcome Center. The new station offers three hours of free charging, which the city says is meant to encourage downtown parking and shopping, according to its October 16 weekly report. Three hours is enough time for dinner on 6th and a stop at the bookstore on NW 5th.

At Leiser Real Estate Group, we keep track of downtown Grants Pass block by block, including which storefronts are filling and which are waiting. If you own a home near the Historic District and wonder how a busier 5th and 6th Street affects what it's worth, ask us for your home value and we'll walk you through it.