By Ben Rejab

Eduardo Olivares is not a quitter. As the co-owner of The Neighborhood Eugene Sustainability Team—a clothing store that resells vintage Oregon Ducks’ team gear and apparel—Olivares has kept his faith in his business and passion long enough to see it finally pay dividends, but the light at the end of the tunnel wasn’t always so bright for him.

Before the creation of The N.E.S.T, the longtime Eugene resident made his income by selling thrifted vintage clothing to student athletes in his living room. “I had a rack set up and people would come into my house and shop,” said Olivares. This hobby of his would lead him to meet fellow vendor and UO alumni, Harrison Stevens, who he would partner with to sell clothes during UO’s biannual Street Faire in spring 2019. He and Stevens would eventually move to a physical store downtown in February 2020, not knowing a global pandemic was right around the corner. They opened for business “straight in the shits,” as Stevens put it.

The duo, however, was not deterred. “We still had a line out the door. I think that was what made us really dial-down and say, ‘people need this,’” said Olivares. From switching to appointment-based store entrance to relocating The N.E.S.T several times, it was Olivares and Stevens’ willingness to play the hand they’d been dealt that kept the N.E.S.T afloat throughout the pandemic. No matter the setback, Stevens would remind Olivares that “everything’s gonna be easier from here.”

By summer 2022, their patience and perseverance would finally be rewarded. Moving to East 13th Avenue, the two occupied the building that was once Taylor’s Bar & Grill, putting them in close proximity to campus. “We moved in here right before the World’s competition happened, so I think that helped us get a lot more walk-in traffic… And being across the street from the Duck Store, we got a lot of the incoming freshman over the summer with Intro-Ducktion.” Today, the N.E.S.T operates seven days a week without occupancy limits —something they couldn’t have dreamed of in February 2020. The two plan to return to the fall Street Faire and host local Eugene band “EWEB” in their store on Friday, October 14. Though it’s admittedly not smooth sailing quite yet, Stevens said “we’re just looking forward to maximizing our time in this space.”