Portland Punk Legend Toody Cole Has Opened a Store In the Basement of Mississippi Records

The store will sell various bric-a-brac—from quilts to dishes to kids’ toys—she and her late husband and bandmate, Fred Cole, accumulated throughout their 50 years together.

Toody Cole (left) with Fred Cole, who died in 2017. IMAGE: Mike Nicolaassen.
By Daniel Bromfield

Toody Cole, the legendary Portland punk bassist whose resume includes stints with Dead Moon, Pierced Arrows and the Rats, has started a new business.

Her store, Junkstore Cowboy, opened quietly last week in the basement of Mississippi Records in North Portland. As the name implies, the store will sell various bric-a-brac—from quilts to dishes to kids' toys—she and her late husband and bandmate, Fred Cole, accumulated throughout their 50 years together.

Related: Fred Cole Lived and Created Entirely on His Own Terms, and Portland Followed His Lead.

"It's just kind of eclectic eye candy," says Cole, 70. "Anything that strikes my fancy. I'm a hoarder and collector like crazy, so I just want to share what I've got with the rest of the world."

The Coles had floated the idea of opening a junk shop for about 10 years. After the label arm of Mississippi Records moved to Chicago, enough space opened up in the shop to make the dream a reality.

Cole mostly retired from performing in 2016, and not much of her inventory is music-related. She might, however, sign a copy of Dead Moon: The Book, Mississippi Records' visual and musical retrospective of her best-known band, if you bring it by.

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