Hilde Lee: Bob's Red Mill

The other day I decided to buy a bean soup mix and found one I had not previously noticed. It is Bob’s Red Mill 13 Bean Soup Mix. The attractive clear cellophane packaging caught my eye, as it was easy to see what is in the package. I was also interested in where it was produced – Milwaukie, Ore. That is close to the area where the majority of dried beans are grown.

This attractive bean mix contains navy, black, red and pinto beans, baby limas, large limas, garbanzo beans, great northern beans, kidney beans, black-eyed peas, yellow split and green split peas, and brown and orange lentils.

Bob’s image appears on the package. Liking the bean mix, my curiosity asked, “Who is Bob?”

It turns out that Bob Moore has been in the dried bean and ground flour business for more than 30 years.

His interest in whole-grain foods started in the mid-1960s, when he found a book about old stone-grinding flourmills. They rapidly had become a thing of the past due to the introduction of high-speed roller mills. The book piqued his interest, and he became enthusiastic about searching for usable stones from defunct mills. He found several sets of millstones in old water-powered flour mills in North Carolina.

Living in California, Bob Moore and his wife, Charlee, decided to establish their own first mill in Redding, Calif. In 1978, after a few years, the couple decided to pursue other interests and retired to Oregon City, Ore., where Bob Moore had been employed as head of the service department of a large auto dealership.

On an afternoon walk one day, Moore and his wife found an old mill that had a “For Sale” sign in front of it. After doing some renovation and cleanup work, Moore was able to use his millstones and grind flour and cereals for local customers. Word spread quickly, and Bob’s Oregon City-based mill enjoyed a big success until 1988, when a fire destroyed the building.

Moore knew he had a loyal following in his employees and customers. So he began to rebuild the business again from scratch. His first big contract was with the Fred Meyer grocery chain. Today the annual revenue of Bob’s Red Mill is about 50 million dollars.

Moore moved his mill operation to Milwaukie, Ore., about 20 minutes from Portland. Today, the 320,000 square foot facility covers some 17 acres and produces a wide variety of products using old-fashioned techniques.

Bob’s Red Mill uses old-fashioned techniques in grinding grains. Moore says, “Grinding grains at cool temperatures with traditional stone mills disks seals in the freshness,” adding “Our beautiful stone grinding mills are much like those used during Roman times. Unlike high-speed steel rollers, stone mills ensure that the most nutritious parts of the whole grain remain.”

In February 2011, on Moore’s 81st birthday, he decided to make that day a special event. Rather than receiving gifts, Bob decided to give his greatest gift — his business — to the people who made it possible. He surprised his more than 200 employees by giving them total ownership of Bob’s Red Mill through an employee share ownership program (ESOP). Many of the employees had been with Bob for more than 30 years.

All of the milling, packaging and shipping are located in one huge facility in Milwaukie, Ore. There, the process starts with the washing and inspection of the grain, then the grinding, and ends with the packaging and shipping. Several of his laboratories are devoted to gluten-free grains, as Moore has a major interest in health foods.

The Visitors Center at Bob’s Mill contains a large restaurant that serves breakfast and lunch using items made with Bob’s Mill products. There also are a bakery, a gift shop and a facility for the weekly cooking classes. Tours of the mill are available.

Bob’s Red Mill products can be found locally at Whole Foods, Integral Yoga, Rebecca’s Natural Foods, Harris Teeter and other locations.

Bob’s Red Mill has a close relationship with its suppliers — meaning primarily the farmers who produce the grain and legumes. Much of the oats used are grown in Saskatchewan, Canada. Idaho is a major supplier of both grain and dried beans used by Bob’s Red Mill.

Since northern Idaho is mostly dry farmed, wheat, dry peas and lentils are the predominant crops. Originally immigrants from the Mediterranean area and Armenia settled the area and grew lentils.

Today, Idaho and Washington produce most of the lentils in this country. They are grown in a 50-mile-wide strip of land along the Idaho-Washington border. The arid climate of this region, historically inhabited by the Palouse Indians, makes it possible to dry lentils and also peas in the field before harvesting. Pinto, lima and great northern beans also are raised and dried in the area.

Bob’s Red Mill grains, flours, cereals, and bean products may be ordered by phone at 1-800-553–2258.