We Are Plaid

Plaid Pantry continues to be your neighborhood’s first choice for snacks, beverages and more.

Plaid Pantry is a locally owned and operated 107 location convenience store chain based in the greater Portland Oregon area, with stores ranging from Salem, Oregon to Seattle, Washington. We carry the widest variety of beverages and snacks of any local convenience store and have recently added many organic, GMO-free, fair trade and other healthier choices to our stores.

At Plaid Pantry we strive to give quick, efficient customer service, so you can stop by one of our stores, get your items and get back on your way. Fast, like you want it to be.

Land of coffee, craft beer, and grunge.

Whether you grew up next to a Plaid Pantry store for the last 20 years or you just moved here and saw your first Plaid Pantry, you’ve no doubt wondered, what is a Plaid Pantry?

John Piacentini opened his first store in 1963. He was looking for an image that would both catch people’s attention and be something they would remember, so he decided on a red-and-white checkered design for the stores. And Plaid Pantry was born! At one time John even had a Model T Ford (painted in red and white checkers) that was driven in the Rose Festival Parade each year. A few years later the stores were designed with orange counters and brown wall signage (though we don’t miss those too much!).

The pole signs used to have a different look to them as well. The curved red section with a rooster at the top stood for sunrise and showed that the store opened at 7am. The curved blue section with a cat at the bottom was for sunset and showed a closing time of 12 midnight.

Over the years we have maintained the same basic concept with the pole sign. We kept the colors and the curved shapes, but now virtually every store is open 24 hours a day to meet the needs of today’s customer and there is no plaid on the Plaid sign!