Over the course of the last few years, many businesses in Hillsdale, Oregon, have closed, leaving buildings vacant and up for lease. Many people who live near Ida B. Wells-Barnett High School have been affected by the loss of shops and stores that were once available for the community and for students to support. One of the main issues that these closures bring is that local businesses are disappearing quickly, leaving mostly large chain companies such as Starbucks, a multimillion-dollar corporation. 

Over the last decade, the Hillsdale neighborhood center, particularly near SW Capitol Hwy and the area around IBW, has seen major changes. Key closures include Hillsdale Art Supply in 2016 and the high-profile closure of Basics Market in early 2026. Basics Market was acquired by Market Of Choice, and the store will remain open during the transition, with a full rebrand expected on June 23, 2026.

Mark Valentine, a Geometry teacher at IBW, said the space now becoming Market Of Choice was previously occupied by Food Front Cooperative Grocery until 2020. “I remember walking into Basics after shopping at Food Front a few times and thinking there was really nothing much different. They are all very similar, just with different owners,” Valentine said. 

Outside of the Hillsdale shopping center, along Beaverton-Hillsdale Highway, additional closures have impacted the area. There, a Rite Aid location closed on June 14, 2025, followed shortly by the next-door grocery store, Albertsons, which closed on July 1, 2025.

With more businesses continuing to close, it is becoming increasingly unreliable for community members to count on stores remaining open long-term. This uncertainty makes it harder for residents and students to depend on local options for everyday needs. It is important that, when possible, people make an effort to support local businesses in order to help keep them open and maintain the character of the community.