Est. 1933
A Dam Good Stop. Since 1933.
A Little History. A Lot Of Heart.
Our Story, One Stop At A Time.
- 1932
The Dam Sets The Stage
Owyhee Dam is completed, helping shape the region our store would soon serve. A pretty dam big beginning.
- 1933
Owyhee Grocery Opens
Built for James P. Langton at Highway 201 and Owyhee Avenue, the service station becomes a stop for travelers and neighbors.
- 1930s
A Store With Real Character
Petrified wood and volcanic rock give the building its unmistakable face. That original exterior still welcomes you today.
- 1984
The Sweets Take Over
After the great flood, the Sweets bought the store and began the next chapter of its family story.
- 1999
Jimmy & Janice Carry It Forward
Jimmy and Janice bought the store, keeping this corner of Owyhee country rooted in family hospitality.
- 2017
The Rock Store Grill Opens
The grill opened, giving guests a reason to come hungry and stay a little longer.
- 2022
Tyler Keeps It In The Family
Tyler bought the store to keep it in the family and build on what the generations before him had started.
- 2023
A Familiar Place. A New Name.
Rebranded as The Rock Store: a name that celebrates the building, the people, and the place we call home.
- May 2025
Officially Historic
Owyhee Grocery joins the National Register of Historic Places on May 16, recognized for local commerce and roadside architecture.
- Today
Your New Favorite Destination
We’re building a place to gather over food, music and good company. Come for a quick stop. Stay for another story.
We opened in 1933 as the Owyhee Grocery — a service station serving the growing Owyhee community after the dam was completed, and a stop for anyone travelling between Nyssa, Adrian and the dam site. The façade went up in petrified wood and volcanic rock pulled from this country, set by hand, and it's still the first thing people notice.
The dam was completed in 1932, a year before our doors opened. For most of the run since, this was what it sounds like — a store on a corner serving ranch families who weren't about to drive to Ontario for a loaf of bread. Groceries, fuel, and whatever else people needed between here and nowhere.
The Sweets bought the store in 1984 after the great flood. Jimmy and Janice took over in 1999, and The Rock Store Grill opened in 2017. In 2022, Tyler bought it to keep it in the family. The 2023 rebrand gave this familiar place the name you know today: The Rock Store. Different chapters, the same commitment to looking after the people who walk through our doors.
The burgers come out upside down. That's not a mistake — it's how we've always built them, and it's the thing people drive back for. Alongside them, a craft beer list we actually curate instead of just filling taps. We give a dam about a good meal. And yes, that joke comes with the territory.
We're a family business and we run it like one. We buy regional meat and regional produce. We hire out of Nyssa and Adrian. You get looked after here, and we'd rather you leave feeling like family than like a transaction. The people pouring your beer on Saturday are the people you'll see at the ball field on Tuesday.
Today, we’re building everyone’s favorite destination. Come for the food, stay for the experience, and bring your curiosity about Owyhee country. Ask us about the glory hole with a straight face—keeping one while you ask is the hard part. Came for the glory hole? Stay for the hospitality. Around here, we’re always happy to give a dam good recommendation.
May 2025
On the National Register of Historic Places.
The National Park Service added the Owyhee Grocery to the register in May 2025 — the petrified wood and volcanic rock façade, the parapeted gable, and ninety-odd years of being the stop between Nyssa, Adrian and the dam.
Buy Close to Home
USDA-certified meat, fresh produce, and partnerships with regional producers and breweries. If we can get it from a neighbor, we do.
Cook It Right
Nothing sits under a lamp. Head Chef Jordan runs the board, Cameron makes the house items from scratch, and the specials actually change.
Treat People Like Family
A real conversation at the counter, not a script. Whether you've been coming for thirty years or you pulled in by accident, you get looked after the same.
What's Next
The Build-Out, in Five Phases.
We're not pretending this is finished. Here's the honest sequence — what's underway, what's drawn up, and what's still an idea on the wall.
01
Pizza, Table Service & Prime Rib Weekends
Adding a pizza program, moving the tap house to table service, and making prime rib a regular weekend draw.
02
Tap House Expansion
1,200 square feet of indoor/outdoor bar, twenty taps, liquor service and an outdoor stage. Grant funded and drawn up; engineered septic plans come before permitting.
03
Grain Silo Bar & Event Yard
A bar built into the silo, a taco bar, and a fenced walkway tying the yard together for bigger events.
04
Dry Camping & Parking
Overflow parking and dry camping sites so festival crowds can stay the night instead of driving home.
05
Cabins
Short-term rental cabins, once the old house comes down and the ground opens up.
Jobs
Join the Team.
Front team, beertender, server, prep cook, swing cook, buyer, manager. We train, we schedule in advance, and we promote from inside.
Get the app
Order ahead, save your usual, earn rewards points, and skip the line on a busy Saturday.