A variety of nuts and candies available at season shop in Ridgefield
They are not crazy.
They’re just nuts.
Theresa and Jerry Jones enjoy a lot of the interesting language jokes that come from their business, but they take their love for their customers and the passion for their product very seriously.
“It’s just so much fun,” Theresa said. “It’s an adventure.”
They like to say their customers are family.
And that family is hungry for the variety of ways that nuts can make the perfect snack.
That’s NWNut.com, which specializes in tasty treats. It is a combination of an online business, a business that goes to area markets during market seasons, and every holiday season, it has its own specialty shop, on the property of Theresa and Jerry’s home.
And every year, it becomes a Santa Village, right there at 2218 NE 179th Street in Ridgefield.
Santa Claus is scheduled to be available from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday to take free pictures with families in the big green Christmas tree.
Interestingly, Jerry Jones and Santa are never in the same place at the same time.
“Somebody has to watch the reindeer. Rudolph has quite an appetite,” Jerry said. “I am taking care of Rudolph. He gets in a lot of mischief.”
Inside the shop, there are all kinds of nuts, with different flavors mixed in, available for final-week Christmas gifts.
Theresa said they sell a lot of hazelnuts because people love to buy local, and hazelnuts are grown in the Northwest. The shop also goes through about 10,000 pounds of almonds every year.
NW Nut takes those nuts and makes them special with the way they roast them, coat them.
Jerry said Theresa is an expert at “taking it from a raw source, from the tree, and turning it into something that is a delight in every bite.”
A typical year in the business of NW Nut is to take some time off to regroup right after the holidays. Then in the spring, prepare for the outdoor market seasons. That will last through October. Also, NW Nut sells its product in Astoria when cruise ships make their stops.
Then, in November every year, the seasonal shop opens on property.
The online business has been up for around 10 years, Theresa said. The specialty shop started three years ago. NW Nut started with just five pounds of nuts. Theresa said she shared them with some folks, and they wanted more.
“It’s grown from five pounds,” she said.
Through the years, the business has also helped area schools with fundraisers, with students selling NW Nut products and keeping 50 percent of the proceeds.
As far as Santa’s Village, Jerry Jones said he just wants more Christmas Spirit in Clark County.
Oh, and this year, there are extra safety protocols in place while visiting Santa. One family at a time. Masks. Social distancing. And surfaces are cleaned between each visit.
“When people come here, they are treated like family,” Jerry Jones said. “Last thing I want is family getting harmed by our business.”
