Hillsdale’s longtime neighborhood grocer is getting a new name on the front door, but the lights are staying on while it happens. Market of Choice has finalized its purchase of the Hillsdale Basics Market on SW Capitol Highway and plans to turn the space into a smaller, neighborhood-style version of its grocery chain. The store will stay open throughout the handoff as shelves, signs and the floor plan are reshaped into a compact, walkable format that Market of Choice says is tailored to Hillsdale shoppers, with a heavy focus on local products and prepared foods.
Deal details and timeline
According to the Portland Business Journal, the sale officially closed on May 1, 2026. The roughly 11,000 square foot Hillsdale site is expected to switch over to a small-format Market of Choice in June. The outlet reports that the purchase follows a letter of intent first announced in January and that the company plans to use this particular store as a testing ground for its new neighborhood concept.
What Market of Choice says
In a January press release, Market of Choice called the Hillsdale store “move-in ready,” pointing to existing equipment and an experienced team as reasons the deal made sense. The company said it intends to keep current Basics employees on staff and aims to minimize service interruptions while the space is converted. The acquisition is being pitched as a way to extend Market of Choice’s local-sourcing model deeper into the Portland metro area, Market of Choice said.
What shoppers will see
Once the remodel gets going, Hillsdale shoppers can expect an emphasis on local produce, artisan baked goods and downsized meat and seafood counters that are calibrated to the neighborhood rather than built like full-size supermarket departments. The Portland Business Journal reports that Market of Choice plans to experiment with product assortment and prepared-food options inside this smaller footprint to see what works at a reduced scale. Customers are likely to notice slow and steady shelf changes before any big cosmetic rebranding hits the store.
Neighbors and staff
On the sidewalk level, reaction in Hillsdale has mixed relief with a wait-and-see attitude. Some Basics regulars had already spotted increasingly bare shelves in recent months, so news that another grocer would step in came as something of a comfort. As Hillsdale News reported, neighbors immediately began asking practical questions about store hours and bottle-return service, while Basics founder Chuck Eggert emphasized that he had looked for a buyer that shared the brand’s community values. Market of Choice has repeatedly said it hopes to keep existing staff employed through the transition and that the store will remain open as operational tweaks roll out.
Why this matters
Basics once ran multiple neighborhood locations but had scaled back to this single Hillsdale storefront, which means the sale effectively closes the book on the Basics brand in Portland even as it preserves a walkable grocery option for the area. Local coverage and conversations with Market of Choice leaders describe the deal as part of a broader strategy to pilot compact, locally focused grocery formats. Company leadership has framed this approach as both a legacy play and a growth move, as noted in reporting by Stumptown Savings and on Basics’ own market pages.
Market of Choice has said it will share more specific timing and layout details as the conversion moves ahead. For now, Hillsdale shoppers can expect business as usual while the company gradually works through the rebrand and adjusts what fills the shelves.
