SoLe’s Filipino Store brings first Asian market to Forest Grove, Cornelius area

Published 5:00 am Wednesday, December 24, 2025

Instead of sitting through traffic to stock up on Asian produce and snacks, Cornelius and Forest Grove residents now have a market closer to home.

SoLe’s Filipino Store welcomed more than 100 customers on its opening day Saturday, Dec. 20, marking the arrival of western Washington County’s first Asian grocer in Forest Grove.

A Beaverton resident who owns two adult care homes, owner Michelle Ballesteros said opening an Asian market wasn’t something she initially set out to do. That changed after her aunt moved to Cornelius last year and started voicing frustration about having to drive toward Portland.

“They would complain because they now have to travel 30 to 45 minutes just to buy Filipino or Asian food,” Ballesteros said. “The need is pretty high, because I know that a lot of people go to Beaverton or in town to buy those kinds of things.”

She began looking for a storefront in October, when she learned about a renovated space at 4403 Pacific Ave. — what used to be Heidi’s Trash To Treasure. By Halloween, she had signed the lease.

“It was actually a quick kind of thing,” Ballesteros said. “So many people came on Saturday, and it was such a warm welcome. To see the diversity of people from Forest Grove and Cornelius — I’m amazed.”

Ballesteros, who grew up in the Philippines and later lived in Maui before moving to Oregon in 2013, said the opening brought back memories of the community in Hawaii.

“It feels like we’re back in Maui,” she said. “Maui is small, and this town is very small too, but there are a lot of people. That welcoming feeling at the opening — you just feel it in your gut that this is going to be good.”

Stocked on the shelves

Despite the name, SoLe’s Filipino Store is not limited to Filipino goods. Alongside pantry staples like Jufran (banana ketchup commonly used in Filipino sweet spaghetti) and packaged pancit canton, shoppers will find everything from specialty soy sauces to Indonesian candies and frozen Chinese long doughnuts.

“It is not meant for just Filipino food or Filipino products,” Ballesteros said. “The reason why I said Filipino store is because we’re Filipinos. We have everything from Korean to Japanese, Chinese, Filipino. We have some stuff from Taiwan … snacks, frozen foods, dry goods, noodles — you name it.”

The shop is still in its early days. Ballesteros said roughly one-third of the initial inventory was available at opening, with the remaining shipment expected to arrive Wednesday, Dec. 24, in time for Christmas Day shoppers.

“Just be patient with us; don’t be discouraged,” Gem Maulit, Ballesteros’ younger sister and the store’s manager, said. “Our shelves will be full, and we’ll be here.”

Ballesteros said community input will help guide the store as it grows. She works with a mix of large-scale and local suppliers and wants customers to have a say in what ends up on the shelves.

“I have an open door to suggestions,” she said. “Please let me know if there’s anything I can get here so that you don’t have to travel.”

In addition to groceries, SoLe’s is selling lunch plates with a rotating menu that spans dishes such as adobo, lumpia, pancit and musubi.

More to come

Even as the store settles into its first weeks, Ballesteros already has an eye toward the future. Long-term plans include the possibility of expanding next door to add an eatery inspired by Filipino street vendors, serving barbecue-style dishes.

More immediately, the business is awaiting its liquor license, which would allow SoLe’s to sell soju and other Korean alcoholic beverages. Ballesteros and Maulit also said there are plans to expand their Hawaiian offerings, including sauces, Li Hing Mui powder and poke.

“We just want the community to know that there are a lot of things coming,” Maulit said.

SoLe’s is open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. weekdays and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekends.

For updates about offerings, events and other information, visit the store’s Facebook page at tinyurl.com/579js29x.