Eastside Market owner Joe Thompson stands by some of the local athletics photos on display at the market.

After 30 years running Eastside Market in downtown Hermiston, Joe Thompson is retiring.

He plans to finalize sale of the business and step down at the end of next week. Thompson said he and his wife Sherry plan to stick around Hermiston, so people will still see him — or “hear” him — as he announces Hermiston High School football games and other local events.

“I think oftentimes Hermiston doesn’t get the reputation it deserves as a top-notch town with a special group of citizens,” he said.

Even though he plans to stay involved with the community through local sports, he said he will miss the people of the Eastside Market most, from regular customers to employees. All sorts of people have started their day or whiled away an afternoon over cups of coffee at the tables in the front corner of the market.

Overlooking those tables are two walls of photos and plaques from local athletes. Some, like former shot-putting standout Mykael Bothum, are Hermiston residents Thompson watched grow up who now bring their own children into the market.

Thompson said the collection started with a photo that a Little League team brought by years ago as a thank you to the market for helping them purchase uniforms.

“That was the start, and I kind of took it from there,” he said. “I have twice as many in the back.”

Thompson’s parents owned Eastside Market before him. They bought it after he graduated high school. In 1985 when Thompson returned to Hermiston as an adult, he took over operations. It was nice having his parents available for advice, he said, but there was still a steep learning curve.

Even after he had a handle on what he was doing, Thompson said the job required a lot of long hours over the years. The store is open 17 hours a day or more.

“It’s seven days a week, basically, because you’re keeping tabs on things,” he said. “You sleep with your phone.”

He has tweaked a few things over the years, but the overall formula has stayed the same.

Lately Eastside Market has been a good luck charm for Hermiston residents. The market sold a string of winning lottery tickets over the course of the summer, including three Scratch-It wins worth a combined $175,000.

When the market’s Facebook page posted an announcement that Thompson was leaving, it was flooded with comments reminiscing about good times there.

“I can vividly remember going into Eastside Market when I was a young kid, and my children grew up right down the street from Eastside Market,” Jeremy Kile wrote. “I feel privileged to have been able to enjoy the little market that never was a ‘convenience’ store, but rather a ‘neighborhood market.’”

“I’ve spent so many weekends in there getting food and drinks with my sister and father before he passed,” Adam Briley wrote. “Each time I remember Joe being the man on the scene. Times are a changing. Gonna miss you.”

Thompson said he’ll miss everyone as well, especially those who helped the market in various ways over the years.

“There’s a lot of people who helped us get things squared away,” he said. “We won’t ever forget them and what they’ve done for our family here.”

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Contact Jade McDowell at jmcdowell@eastoregonian.com or 541-564-4536.