(Photo above: (L-R) Barbara Turner, Virginia Patskowski & Kara Lappe | courtesy of Sisters Cascade Gifts)
If you’ve ever shopped or ate in downtown Sisters, it is likely that you’ve stepped foot into some truly iconic buildings. From old trading posts to banks and saloons, the shops, restaurants and bars that inhabit the city have seen many different changes and many different people walk through its doors.
One such place is Sisters Cascade of Gifts, otherwise known as the ‘fudge shop’ is nestled in the heart of downtown’s main thoroughfare on Cascade Avenue. Not only does this quaint little gift shop have a wide array of gifts, kitchenware and homemade fudge for sale — it has a very special history of ownership.
All three of the shop’s owners have been female entrepreneurs and all three had the same goal — have a fun and create unique place to shop for visitors and locals alike.
Kara Lappe, the current owner is originally from Damascus, Oregon. Growing up, her family vacationed all over Central Oregon and had always loved the area. Fast forward to early 2016, Lappe and her husband were looking at real estate in Sisters and ran across an ad in Craigslist for Sisters Cascade of Gifts. They decided to check it out and as if it was meant to be, the Lappes moved to Sisters and took over the property on January 1, 2017.
The previous owners, Barbara Turner (who owned Cascade Gifts for over 30 years) and Virginia Patskowski (2010-16) have visited the store and are delighted at the changes Lappe has made.
Patskowski moved to Sisters to retire and worked part time at Cascade Gifts making fudge for Turner. When Turner was finally ready to retire herself, Patskowski bought the store, kept the fudge tradition going and added collectibles, kid’s toys and stuffed animals.
“Over the years, we were always busy in the summer with tourists and in the slower months, the locals were very supportive by shopping in our store,” says Patkowski.
Market Makeover
The first thing the Lappes did was close up the 37 year old store for two months while they remodeled. Removing a lot of the old furniture and fixtures, the Lappes made the store entrance ADA accessible. The design and style plan for the store was shabby chic farm style look that was open, bright and easy to navigate.
As you walk by Cascade of Gifts, a sweet and familiar smell fills the air that lures you in to the shop and straight to the wonderful homemade fudge section. Lappe always loved to bake and make candy since she was a little girl, adding another reason this was a perfect fit for Lappe.
“I started getting into chocolate and candy when baking became easy. Even though my scratch butter and cream fudge skills were never great, the 35 year old kettle that has been making this famous fudge in the store has made it easy for me,” says Lappe.
A sitting area across from the fudge buys time for everyone to shop, complete with a comfy chair and a free sample.
Sisterly Community
As with the previous owners, Lappe is strongly committed to local suppliers and community involvement. Cascade Gifts uses as many local artists as possible to make their signs and provide the cards and jewelry. They have a pet department that has play toys and artisan dog baked goods. Five percent of these product sales go to Furry Friends of Sisters.
“I try really hard to be different in town so every store has different [items]and it brings a better shopping experience to the consumer,” says Lappe “I touch base often to the store owners around me and we talk about what’s trending in Sisters.
Their success is just as important as mine because to get people to actually stop in Sisters as they pass through we all need to be amazing and different. When a customer can’t find something they are looking for in my shop I really try to lead them to a store in town that would so the dollars can be in our local community,” adds Lappe.
541-549-8591
150 W Cascade Ave., Sisters
