Calling all chip connoisseurs: Mr. Chip is opening this weekend to help cure your cravings for hard-to-find snacks.
The Mr. Chip vending machine is located inside Mike Bennett Studios in the Irvington neighborhood (707 NE Fremont) and will be stocked with chips from all over the United States and beyond. To mark the occasion, owner Keith Dickerson—who loosely inspired the Mr. Chip graphic on the side of the machine—will be holding a grand opening 11 am to 4 pm Saturday, June 27, where he’ll be offering samples of some of his favorite chips.
Dickerson, who also works as a manager and baker at Bernstein’s Bagels, has been obsessed with chips for a long time. At first, he and his coworkers would bring in snacks to share with each other, maybe a new chip flavor from H Mart or Uwajimaya. Soon, friends started bringing him chips from all over: oregano chips from Greece, Fox Family Potato Chips from Maine. Meanwhile, when the bagel shop started selling Utz crab chips, Dickerson watched with amusement as East Coast expats went ravenous. As the chip obsession grew, he built a massive 25-day chip advent calendar to share with his coworkers.
“It was eye-opening to see how many people were so passionate about chips that they grew up with,” says Dickerson. “I was like, ‘Okay, there could be something here.’ If it’s gonna be successful anywhere, it’s here in Portland.”
One of Dickerson’s favorite offerings in the machine is Hawkins Cheezies, a Canadian brand of super crunchy, extra salty bright orange cheese curls that are akin to Cheetos, but a thousand times better; Dickerson tapes a Wet Wipe to each bag for easy cleanup. Another favorite is the Fox Family salt and pepper chips, which he says taste like actual potatoes and pepper. The Grippo’s barbecue chips from Ohio, meanwhile, are “irresponsibly seasoned—they just have, like, so much powder on them.”
But Dickerson insists you can’t go wrong with any of the chips in the machine—there are 25 varieties in total. There’s a strong Canadian showing; along with Hawkins Cheezies, you can also get Old Dutch ketchup chips and Hostess Hickory Sticks. Other offerings include Lay’s Kobe Steak chips, Green Sahara’s Nigerian-inspired sweet peanut chips, and yuzu chips from Japanese chip company Kokeiya. Prices are $3-5 per bag, and offerings will rotate frequently. For a full map of Mr. Chip’s current lineup, check mrchipvending.com.
Along with chips, the machine will also sell Mr. Chip merch, including stickers (one of them is even Magic: The Gathering themed), workwear-style embroidered patches, and, of course, chip clips.
The machine also sells chip-themed art. Flerps are stuffed chip bags with hand-drawn art from a 13-year-old local artist named Oliver, who’s sold his work at markets like Mall Rats and Gamjam in the Lloyd Center. Dickerson commissioned an exclusive lineup for Mr. Chip, and the Flerps come in two sizes: one similar to a fun size bag of chips, and a smaller one that comes with a ribbon for decorative display.
Right now, the catch to all this is that Mr. Chip has very limited hours. It’s open the same hours as Mike Bennett’s studio: 11 am-4 pm, Saturdays and Sundays only. Dickerson is on the hunt for a space where he can make Mr. Chip’s offerings more consistently available to the public.
Mr. Chip, 707 NE Fremont, mrchipvending.com, @mr.chip.pdx, Sat-Sun 11 am-4 pm