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| La Honda market resurrected By Greg Thomas [ greg@hmbreview.com ] Published/Last Modified on Wednesday, February 24, 2010 12:00 PM PST On March 6, La Hondans will no longer be facing an eight-mile stretch of highway between their homes and a loaf of bread — or for that matter a deli sandwich or homemade dinner. A few newcomers to the village’s downtown area are resurrecting the defunct Pioneer Market with fresh flare. Now called “La Honda Country Market,” the squat storefront on Highway 84 at Sears Ranch Road has been transformed. Fluorescent lights, snap-together shelves and older décor have been replaced with wood floors, a hot food counter and a working fireplace, giving the room a homey aura. Products are different as well. The country market will offer buyers sundries bearing a closer resemblance to the gourmet foods of Pescadero’s popular Arcangeli Grocery Co. than the dusty nonperishables of a convenience store. “It’s our vision. If we’re gonna do this we need to make it a destination item,” said Susan Purnell, a four-year resident of La Honda who co-signed the building lease in the fall with her husband and a friend. “People who have families, people commuting, people just coming by are gonna get something substantial and homemade they can take home in their busy lives,” she added. “I think that’s important — that it’s the community store.” Long-standing store occupants John and Min Kim bowed out of their lease on Pioneer Market in August. Debt with vendors, accumulated over a two-and-a-half-year slump, eventually sealed the market’s demise. La Hondans have been without a nearby outlet for basic necessities for about six months since the store closed — about 10 months longer if you count the time the Kims stopped restocking their shelves. The closest food sellers are a 15-minute drive away — west to San Gregorio or east to Woodside. “But it’s not like you’re going to be able to pick up dinner there,” said Jill Briggs, a mother in La Honda. The nearest grocery outlets in Half Moon Bay and Redwood City are about 20 miles away. “We all know what it’s like to forget something and have that thought, ‘Oh man, am I going to go back or not?’” said a sympathetic Purnell. If Purnell’s plan proves profitable, La Hondans won’t have to worry for the next decade, at least. She and her business partners signed a five-year lease on the market, and hope the business will carry them into retirement, Purnell said. “We’re looking at this as a long-term investment.” Purnell recently retired from a position as spirits buyer for K&L Wine Merchants in Redwood City. Her husband, Aaron Kamil, was a shipping and receiving manager for a wine importer in Berkeley. The third leg of the business is Glen Christensen, a property owner in La Honda, and landlord to Kamil and Purnell. The trio mailed out a survey to 500 La Hondans during the revamp to gauge the community’s needs. Responses showed a need for fresh produce, milk, eggs, bread, deli meat and beer. “You’d think we’d have a farmers market ’cause we’re so close to all the growers, but we don’t,” said Briggs. Community buzz is building to bring fresh veggies to the market once a week, she added. “People are looking forward to that possibility.” |