IRRIGON — Business is back to booming in Irrigon. Premises have opened up or are under construction and older establishments enjoy new management. Supply chain issues however have slowed down some startups.

“Going from east to west for new businesses in town, let’s start with Family Dollar Store,” City Manager Aaron Palmquist said. “It’s coming in and under construction. Dollar Tree is a separate entity.”

On the south side of North Main Avenue is a fruit stand, across from A. C. Houghton Elementary School. At 810 N.E. Main Ave., the new Garden Family Restaurant serves Tex-Mex food.

“It’s doing great,” Palmquist reported. “Part of the code allows living beside businesses. It’s exciting to have here, just off the highway.”

Java Junkies cafe lies a bit farther west along Highway 730 at Division Road.

“It’s a franchise with the one in Umatilla,” Palmquist said. “They’re a great group of young ladies. West of them is a Latino restaurant with great people, food and prices.”

Taqueria Dona Mary is at 490 N.E. Main Ave., near the Irrigon Minimart.

“The Minimart is putting in a 76 gas station,” Palmquist said, “but the supply chain has been a challenge. They’re still waiting for storage tanks to arrive.”

El Primo Mexican Grill is at Fourth Street and Highway 730.

“It was Sergio’s, but is now under new ownership,” Palmquist said. “Maria is a great cook. It’s primarily Mexican cuisine, but with American food for breakfast. They accommodate a variety of tastes and are doing excellently.”

To the west lies the Irrigon Store, consisting of a Circle K and Shell station. The Rustic Truck Bar and Grill, a Pacific Northwestern restaurant, is at 100 W. Highway 730, across South First Street from the Bank of Eastern Oregon. On the other side of the highway is the Dollar General.

“Also on the north side of 730 is the Irrigon Medical Clinic, near the new county building,” Palmquist said, with the Irrigon Boardman Emergency Assistance Center, 290 N.E. Main Ave.

Other new businesses include home workers, such as trucking delivery dispatchers, Palmquist noted.

“This is an exciting development,” he said, “but for security reasons I can’t say where they are located.”

And major developments are coming, Palmquist said. Oregon’s U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley recently announced federal appropriations included $1 million for Irrigon’s business opportunity incubator.

“It’s to help low-income and underserved community members set up shops.”

The federal dollars are to fund construction of an approximately 10,000-square-foot facility with a certified kitchen and space for multiple uses, including distribution, manufacturing and warehousing. It would allow a variety of small areas, with flexibility to house office space and restrooms.

“For 10 to 15 years, Irrigon has wanted a certified kitchen,” Palmquist said. “The city will help set it up, then rent it out and use it to sell products or send food to schools.”

The new facility is to be built where old, now-demolished vacation rental cabins stood on the south side of the highway. Construction could start in the spring.

The project represents a partnership between the city of Irrigon and the Port of Morrow, which will provide additional funding to complete the project.

“Besides the federal funds, Irrigon also is getting $250,000 from the Port of Morrow to conduct engineering and planning for the incubation center,” Palmquist concluded. “We work cooperatively for business development here.”

Lisa Mittelsdorf, executive director of the Port of Morrow, reported the facility “will be particularly effective in creating opportunities for minority and low-income individuals in our community that need it most.”