Today we’d like to introduce you to Tyler Simpson.
Hi Tyler, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
Where We Started
The Rock Store was built in 1932 — from rock and petrified wood pulled from the land itself, at a crossroads in Eastern Oregon that has always been the heart of Owyhee country. For decades, it stood as a landmark and gathering place, long before our family ever walked through its doors.
In 1984, a bad flood hit the area and the property came available. My grandparents saw something worth saving. They bought it, steadied it, and made it ours.
That decision — to step in when things were hard and hold onto something with real history — set the tone for everything that followed. The Rock Store is listed on the National Historic Registry, a recognition that what was built here in 1932 belongs not just to whoever owns it, but to the story of this region.
Where We Are Now
Three generations later, it’s my turn.
I’ve taken what my grandparents preserved and what my parents carried forward, and I’m building the next chapter. The Rock Store has grown from a corner convenience stop into a full destination — a restaurant, a tap house, an event venue, and a community anchor for the people it has served for nearly a century.
The same walls that survived a flood in 1984 are still standing. We intend to make sure they’re standing for another century.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The Middle Part Nobody Talks About
In 2017, we opened the restaurant. And then the real work began.
Growing a business in rural Eastern Oregon isn’t like growing one anywhere else. There’s no foot traffic to stumble into. No dense population to draw from. Every customer who walks through our door made a decision to come here — drove past easier options, took a road most people don’t take. Getting people to do that consistently, and to keep coming back, takes years. Not months. Years.
Staffing was its own mountain. In a rural community, your hiring pool is small. The people who want to work in hospitality often leave for cities. We went through stretches of building a good team, losing people, and starting over. Finding the right crew — people who understood what we were trying to build and wanted to be part of it — took longer than I ever expected.
Nearly ten years of that. Showing up, adjusting, rebuilding, and refusing to walk away from something we believed in.
We’ve been impressed with The Rock Store, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Where We Are Now — and Where We’re Going
Today, The Rock Store is what we always believed it could be — a real destination. A restaurant, a tap house, a retail store, a fuel stop, and an event venue, all rooted in a building that has stood since 1932. People don’t stumble onto us anymore. They plan a trip around us.
But honestly, we’re just getting started.
The vision for The Rock Store is bigger than a building. We’re building the ultimate destination stop in Eastern Oregon — a place that draws people from across the region and gives them a reason to stay. A brewery. Airbnb cabins on the property. A performance stage and outdoor park for live music events. E-commerce that carries the brand beyond these roads.
Eastern Oregon deserves a destination that reflects how remarkable this place actually is. The landscape, the history, the community — none of it gets the spotlight it deserves. We intend to change that.
The Rock Store started as a corner stop. We’re turning it into a landmark that people seek out, talk about, and come back to — not just once, but every time they’re within a hundred miles.
What does success mean to you?
What Success Looks Like
Success for us has never been a number on a spreadsheet.
It’s the family that stops on a road trip and comes back the next summer on purpose. It’s the couple that had their first date here and now brings their kids. It’s the regular who sits at the same stool and knows everyone’s name. Those moments — people choosing this place, again and again, to make memories — that’s what we’re building toward.
And it’s the people behind the counter too. One of the hardest parts of building a rural business is watching your community’s best people leave because there’s nothing here to stay for. Real jobs change that. Careers, not just shifts. A reason to plant roots in Eastern Oregon instead of packing up and heading somewhere else.
That’s what drives us. A business that fills seats and fills lives — the people who walk through the door and the people who show up every day to serve them.
If we get that right, everything else follows.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.rockstoreco.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rockstoreco/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Owyheegrocery
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@rockstoreco
