This isn't a review I thought I'd have to write. Honestly, the second-to-last time I went to Jim's with my family, it was a great experience. Took the nieces to the library, then for swim classes at the aquatic center, then to this old-school former Baskin-Robbins across the street. They had a bunch of Umpqua flavors, they had colorful wax cups, and they made banana splits so big that we took one to Shute Park in what looked like a hoagie container.
Sure, there were some things that struck me as odd. The server/owner scolding her kids the whole time. One of the owners carrying a pistol openly for some reason. At the time, I just chalked this up to "Well, that's Oregon" and went on my way.
But, naturally, the story doesn't end there. I'm in town visiting family for the weekend and they were just coming off of a hot spell. However, my sister waited until I got there to see if I wanted to go to Jim's. I was down: A Rocky Road sundae sounded good to me. But, even with the county slowly reopening and Jim's using some slapdash delivery service to keep afloat, it seemed the quarantine was too much for the owners.
A whole lot of people were heading downtown later that night to protest the police murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis and to call attention to police- and ICE-related issues in Hillsboro. We wouldn't have known any of this if the owners didn't vociferously complain about it during our entire time there. There was a lot of "whatabout:" What about COVID, what about the good cops, what about all live mattering, etc.
Now, my sister said something to them about how they didn't seem all that upset about a reopen protest in Salem a while back, but they shrugged it off. However, when it was time to order, the server asked her what she thought it would be like if their ice cream parlor didn't exist. She noted that, since she lived her when the Baskin-Robbins closed, she was OK with that and just got Tillamook pints to bring home. The server noted that she's have to do just that if Kate Brown didn't end the lockdown quicker. Then she said something about them maybe having to close down if they got looted tonight, and I went off.
1. You can't get people to take the MAX downtown for anything: Concerts, restaurants, bowling, etc. They aren't going to do so to steal Umpqua ice cream from an off-brand Baskin-Robbins after looting antique stores. 2. If it isn't "antifa" they're worried about, who is it? They were clearly making ice cream cakes for quinceañeras and birthdays: We they worried about their neighbors? 3. I know there's a cop shop right up the street from them, but didn't those cops face federal charges for tasing a black cyclist five years ago just DOWN the street?
They said they didn't like my tone. I said I didn't like their attitude, and me and my sister left. I have nothing but positive reviews for the place we went to afterward -- and for the downtown protest we wound up attending -- but I honestly wouldn't be surprised to see this storefront vacant again at some point. You can't operate with that much hate and distrust and still consider yourself a community asset.
ADDENDUM: Really? You're pushing a recall vote now? Put this on a cake: Kate Brown 56%, Knute Buehler 39%. That's what 2018 looked like in Washington County. Maybe Harney County will lap up what you're dishing out. read more