Barnes Jewelry Buys New Location, Promises Grand Re-Opening Soon
-By Tiffany Wagner
September 30th, 2023
After the strange and devastating destruction of the original Barnes Jewelry, a long time staple of Portland’s history, it’s owner Stephen Barnes has announced he is moving the location of the store to a new property. After running a successful FundMeNow campaign, as well as an undisclosed donor contributing a large sum to the store’s reopening, Barnes Jewelry will be reopening this coming October.
Back in August, the building was, according to Stephen Barnes, destroyed after being targeted by a freak demonstration of Nexus Technology’s unveiled TERMI robots. Nexus Technologies has denied involvement, though with the recent disappearance of their newest CEO, Brigid Green, the company once again is undergoing severe shake-ups, and the destruction of Barnes Jewelry has affected their reputation. Nexus Technologies blames the destruction on Seth Dwarn, who was arrested weeks ago for assaulting Green and causing severe damages, as well as the theft of Titan Industry’s prototype chip.
“It touches our heart that so many people wanted to see the ol’ store stay open,” Kristina Roberts, one of Stephen Barnes’ employees, told K-Intune. “Steve was saying he didn’t think there would be much help. Then, when we started the campaign, there was about a day of silence. We had doubts. But, then, word began to spread! And we saw money come in for our little campaign. We were grateful for everyone who still cared about our business.”
We inquired as to why they decided to buy a new storefront instead of rebuilding the old one. “The original layout of the store was not recorded unfortunately,” Stephen Barnes had stated. “However, there were a myriad of problems with the old store front anyways, including code issues. If we were to restore the store, it would have to be up to date and I feared it would have a modern construction.
However, I believe the new location will still give an authentic oldtime feel to any customers. It is the old speakeasy that rested on Northwest 5th that had been looking for a seller since last year. Thanks to everyone’s contributions, we are purchasing the building, though also trying to keep the old Art Deco designs.”
“We lost a lot of old family heirlooms in the destruction and it was a big hit to the family,” Stephen continued. “We are thankful to everyone who helped out with the funding campaign and all the private donors who contributed. We hope to see the store open once again and to provide the best jewelry at the best deal anyone can offer.”
The new property is located within Northwest 5th Avenue in the Oldtown of Portland, not too far away from the historic waterfront and their old location.
