Mill Town Coffee opens drive-through shop in Imbler

Imbler gained a new early-morning stop when Mill Town Coffee opened a drive-through on Ruckman Avenue, adding coffee-based drinks and light food in a town where residents have only a short list of daily shopping options. The shop is open Monday through Saturday and serves espresso drinks, lattes, sandwiches and pastries through two drive-thru windows, giving commuters and families a faster local choice than driving into La Grande for every cup or snack.

The opening carries extra weight in a place this small. The City of Imbler says the town was founded in 1891, incorporated on March 20, 1922 and has a population of 324. City leaders also say they want to improve Imbler without losing its small-town feeling of community and friendship, and the city’s business page lists just a handful of local anchors, including Imbler Market, Blue Mountain Seeds, Oregon Trail Seeds, Valley Fabrication, Imbler Christian Church and the Imbler Postal Service & Office.

That sparse commercial base helps explain why a coffee stand matters. Imbler Market sits at the corner of Ruckman Avenue and Main Street, and its building began life as Stringham’s Store, a general mercantile, hardware and grocery store built in the spring of 1903. The post office once operated from the east side of the building, a reminder that for more than a century, one narrow corridor has carried a large share of the town’s everyday commerce.

The market’s recent history shows the same pressure for convenience. Malinda and Johnny Gunnels bought Imbler Market in December 2022 and later added a hot deli case, a sandwich table, six slushy machines and more coolers as they tried to expand what could be picked up locally. Mill Town Coffee extends that same grab-and-go pattern with a dedicated coffee stop, another sign that even in a town of a few hundred people, there is enough morning traffic to support more than one place for breakfast, drinks and quick food.