One day in the late spring of 1961, my dad came home from work and told me, “This weekend, you and I are going fishing with Uncle Ross.”

Sure enough, Friday evening about 5:30 p.m., Uncle Ross drove up in his station wagon with my Cousin Jim. Dad loaded two fishing poles, some tackle, two sleeping bags, a grocery bag full of food , and coats and clothing for us into the car. Then off we went on our fishing trip.

We drove out Folsom Boulevard toward Placerville. Back then, no freeways had been built so we drove out Folsom Boulevard to Folsom. Eventually that road ran into State Highway 50.

When we reached Placerville, we turned north on Highway 49 in the direction of Georgetown, an old gold rush village.

Just before we reached Georgetown, we turned east on a dirt road and drove about five miles to a place where we stopped and made camp.

The thing I remember most about that ride was the dust. It billowed up and covered Uncle Ross’ car.

What a mess.

But who cared, we were going to camp out under the stars. Wow!

After we unloaded the gear, we began to erect the tents. This dates back before the days of REI, so the tents we had came from Army Surplus. We set up one tent for Dad and Uncle Ross and one for Jim and me. Then we unrolled our sleeping bags inside the tents.

While we did this, Uncle Ross built a fire and cooked dinner: hot dogs and canned beans. I tell you this, hot dogs and beans never tasted so good. For dessert, we had Hostess Cup Cakes. As we watched the sun set, we drank coffee with lots of milk and sugar in it.

When the sun came down and dark settled in, we beheld the magic of the entire Milky Way spreading across the night sky. I remember the majesty of that to this day. However, soon we tired, closed our tent flap and fell into a deep sleep.

When morning came, Jim and I awoke to the sound of Uncle Ross cooking breakfast. He started the fire, then made coffee, then cooked bacon and eggs. The smell of the cooking bacon proved intoxicating, and soon we all dressed and joined Uncle Ross around the fire.

After breakfast, we gathered our gear and headed down to the Rubicon River in search of trout.

Since this was my first fishing trip, I took in all the sights. We trekked over huge granite outcroppings, went around large fir trees, and crossed gurgling streams filled with water so clean, you could scoop up a hand full and drink right from the stream.

Eventually we arrived at the river where Dad and Ross went upstream and Jim and I went downstream.

Try as we might, Jim and I caught no fish. We saw some big ones, but they ignored our bait. In the end, we headed back upstream to find Dad and Uncle Ross.

When we found them, they proudly held up two trout each: nice looking fish, all about twelve inches long. Jim and I were happy somebody caught something. After admiring the catch, we all headed back up toward the camp site.

As always, the walk back out always seems a lot harder the walk in. But we made it back without an injury, or a whimper. Soon we had the car loaded and headed home with our bounty.

We stopped in Placerville on the way home to eat lunch. We had burgers and fries. Keep in mind, this was long before people worried much about cholesterol and the food tasted great. After filling our bellies, off we went to Sacramento.

I remember this trip as if it were yesterday. The clean air, the pure water, the simple food cooked outdoors all added up to a wonderful time with my father, my uncle and my cousin. Even today, Jim and I often think back and recall this special Janey Way memory.

PLACERVILLE – El Dorado Savings Bank based in Placerville, California, reported after tax earnings for 2010 of $10.9 million representing a 2% increase over 2009.  In addition, El Dorado completed its 22nd consecutive year without any foreclosed property on the books. “We are very pleased with the strong performance of the bank, especially considering the challenging economic environment and weak real estate market”, said Chairman and CEO Thomas C. Meuser.

El Dorado ended the year with assets of $1,656,609,652 essentially the same as year-end 2009.  Savings deposits rose by $42.7 million, or 3%, during 2010.

“New customers continued to move their accounts to El Dorado Savings Bank during the year due to concern about the economy and the bank’s excellent reputation,” stated Meuser.  “Many individuals are now using the Internet to search out bank quality ratings,” said Meuser. “El Dorado’s top ratings from Bauer Financial, VeriBanc, and IDC Financial Publishing were beneficial in attracting new accounts.” When asked about El Dorado’s continued success during these difficult economic times, Meuser stated, “We have always concentrated on acquiring the highest quality loans and investments during our 53 years of operations, together with providing excellent service to our customers. This strategy has proven to be successful, even under the most challenging conditions.”

El Dorado Savings Bank ended the year with Core Capital of $157 million, or 9.48% of assets, which is well above the 6% regulatory requirement for a “well-capitalized” bank.

“Risk based capital,” which measures the quality of El Dorado’s assets, was 32%, over three times the well-capitalized requirement of 10% and one of the highest ratios in the industry.

El Dorado operates 32 branch offices in Northern California and 3 branches in Northern Nevada including branches at 4768 J Street and 5801 Folsom Blvd., Sacramento, 4701 Manzanita Ave., Carmichael, and 7895 Lichen Drive, Citrus Heights.

One wonders how many longtime, local residents still drive by the old Stop-N-Shop building across from Vic’s Ice Cream on Riverside Boulevard in the Land Park area and reminisce about when they used to shop at this once grand supermarket.

Considering that Sacramento was home to 13 Stop-N-Shop markets, there are undoubtedly many people who remember at least one of these stores.

Furthermore, many longtime, local residents assuredly still remember the store’s popular jingle, which featured the familiar lines: “Let’s go down to the Stop-N-Shop and push the cart around ‘n’ round. Let’s buy all of our groceries there. They have the best in town. Let’s go down to the Stop-N-Shop and push the cart around ‘n’ round. You get a lot more for your money there than anywhere else in town.”

Sacramento grocery leaders

Although there are currently several Sacramento area convenience stores that use the name, Stop N Shop, these stores are not to be confused with the Stop-N-Shop stores that were once leaders in the city’s grocery industry.

The Stop-N-Shop stores highlighted in this article were established by the Kassis family, with the first of these stores being opened in 1928 at 2800 Y St. (present day Broadway).

The roots of Stop-N-Shop stores began with A.G. Kassis, who emigrated with his wife, Maggie, from Lebanon to the United States in 1890.

Lebanese immigrants

Upon their arrival in America, A.G. and Maggie, who were Christian Lebanese, made their way to North Dakota, where they eventually had five sons. These sons, in order of seniority, were Frank, Lew, Ed, John and Walter.

A.G., who purchased farmland in Williston, N.D., began his own grain farming operation, which proved to be unsuccessful.

As a result of this failed endeavor, A.G. joined his four brothers – Abe, Charles, John and Eli – in the operation of a billiards parlor in North Dakota. A.G. also added to his income through other business ventures, which included the operation of a small grocery store.

After about 20 years of living in North Dakota, A.G. and Maggie decided to move their family to Rio Linda, Calif. This decision was based on the poor health of John, who suffered from vitamin deficiency and would be better suited living in a warmer climate.

In Rio Linda, A.G. sold chickens and eggs and raised fruits and vegetables, which he sold from roadside stands.

The source of the majority of A.G.’s income ended abruptly, however, when a fatal disease eliminated A.G.’s chickens.

Subsequently, A.G. attempted to achieve success by operating a miniature golf business and a livestock feed store, but neither were very successful.

Son finds first location

Fortunately, Frank, who regularly took a train into Sacramento and then rode by streetcar from 12th and H streets to Sacramento High School, was able to find work at the Del Monte cannery at 17th and C streets, where his mother was also employed.

It was also Frank who discovered a commercial corner in Sacramento that, in his own description, “intrigued” him.

This corner at the aforementioned 28th and Y streets proved to be the site of the first Stop-N-Shop store, as A.G. leased a former retail ice business at this street corner from Preston F. Reed, a carpenter and building contractor who lived at 2545 28th St.

After traveling into Sacramento each day, the Kassis family eventually moved to the capital city, residing at 2522 28th St.

Stop-N-Shop, which A.G. operated with the assistance of his sons, was not the first Kassis-owned grocery store in Sacramento, since A.G.’s brother, Charles Kassis, who resided in Rio Linda, had partnered with Rio Linda resident Anna Bohamera to own and operate Del Monte Grocery at 1730 C St.

Quick growth

The area around the first Stop-N-Shop store grew quickly with the assistance of the opening of the Shasta Ice Cream Co. at 2814 Y St. Additionally, Scotty’s Service Station, which was located across Y Street from these two businesses, aided in bringing people to the area.

A.G. Kassis and three of his five sons (left to right), Walter, Frank and John, stand in front of the first Stop-N-Shop grocery store at 2800 Y St. (present day Broadway) in about 1928. / Photo courtesy of the Kassis family

Pocket area resident Dick Ryder, a 1947 graduate of McClatchy High School, said that he remembers seeing the first Stop-N-Shop location during the 1930s.

“I lived (at 2800 Regina Way in Land Park), near California Junior High, and I remember the first Stop-N-Shop,” he said. “It was kind of like the picture at the (California Automobile) Museum of the first Raley’s (grocery) store in Placerville. It had all the fruits and vegetables out in front of the place.”

The success of the Y Street store, which had a dirt floor and initially sold cold watermelon, ice, beverages and wood blocks, was achieved through the Kassis family’s reputation for providing quality food and service.

This success led to the establishment of Stop-N-Shop, Store #2, at 1330 16th St. in about the early 1930s.

As the prosperity of the Stop-N-Shop stores increased, A.G. Kassis transferred ownership of his stores to four of his sons.

Of the five sons of A.G., only John ventured outside the family’s grocery business, as he instead opted to go to medical school. Eventually becoming Dr. John Kassis, John practiced family medicine in Sacramento for nearly a half-century.

The number of Stop-N-Shop stores continued to increase as a Del Paso Heights store was added in about 1939 and three years later, the 2000 I St. market opened.

Following his service in the Army during World War II, Eli’s son, Bill Kassis, who formerly worked at the 16th Street store and opened the 20th and I streets store, opened the Land Park area Stop-N-Shop store, which was located at 3231 Riverside Blvd.

‘Store of tomorrow’

 The two-story Riverside Boulevard building, which was built by the Erickson Construction Co. and included a warehouse elevator, opened in late 1947.

The Riverside Boulevard store, which Theodore H. Richards of the Bercut-Richards cannery referred to as “the store of tomorrow,” was locally unique for its time, as this early supermarket served as the anchor of a wide variety of businesses.

Doris (Lopes) Yager, a 1938 graduate of McClatchy High School, said that her mother, Gloria Lopes, was one of the very first customers of the Riverside Boulevard store.

Doris added that by 1950, she had moved into her mother’s house at 1250 Marian Way in the Land Park area and had begun to shop at the Riverside Boulevard store.

“When I got married, I lived with my mom for several years and I did all my shopping at (the Riverside Boulevard) Stop-N-Shop,” Doris said. “It was the only grocery store in the neighborhood, so naturally everybody shopped at Stop-N-Shop. It had such things as a meat counter, a fruits and vegetables department, a post office, a drug store and Swanson’s Cleaners was there, too, so you had everything in the one store. And Bill Kassis was there all the time and he was a very nice gentleman, as I recall. It was quite the grocery store for its time.”

Bill, 88, who is now the patriarch of the Kassis family, remembers the store with much passion and detail.

He emphasized that the Riverside Boulevard building, which also included a barbershop, a beauty shop, a Green Stamp redemption center and a location of the locally-famous Hart’s Pastry, was fortunate to have Ash Rutledge and his Vic’s Ice Cream across the street at 3199 Riverside Blvd.

“We were very good friends and actually, we depended on each other,” Bill said. “I’d have lunch there every day.”

A 1965 city directory shows the continued expansion of Stop-N-Shop, as the number of its store locations had reached 11 by this time. These stores included the River Park store at 5491 Carlson Drive and stores at 4065 McKinley Blvd. and 5815 Stockton Blvd.

Lucky No. 14

Overall, the Kassis family eventually operated 13 stores, yet in a similar theme to buildings that do not designate a 13th floor, the store numbers jumped from Store #12 to Store #14.

Surpassing the popularity of the chain’s Riverside Boulevard location was one of the last Stop-N-Shop stores to be constructed – the then-very modern Fort Sutter Shopping Center supermarket at 2815 L St., where Sutter General Hospital was later built. The market structure also included candy and coffee shops and laundry and shoe repair businesses.

Bill said that Stop-N-Shop was well represented in the north area of Sacramento.

In addition to the Del Paso Boulevard store, north area Stop-N-Shop stores were located at 4120 El Camino Ave., Fulton and Marconi avenues, where Honey Baked Ham is located at the present day address of 2875 Fulton Ave., 2312 Watt Ave. at Country Club Plaza and 1765 Arden Way at the Arden Fair Mall.

Greg Kassis, the son of Lew Kassis and a Stop-N-Shop employee for most of the years of 1954 to 1975, said that he most fondly remembers the Fulton and Marconi avenues store.

Greg added that he first provided assistance at this store when he was 7 years old.

“I used to ride my bike to work (at the Fulton and Marconi avenues store),” Greg said.

Food court pioneersWhen asked about the north area Stop-N-Shop locations, Bill was quick to describe the uniqueness of the Watt Avenue site’s Gourmet Lane, which included Frank Fat’s restaurant, La Fiesta Mexicatessen Restaurant, Hart’s Restaurant, Frank’s Fisherman’s Wharf Restaurant, T&T Burger Bar, Farmer Joe’s Restaurant and Keller’s Doughnut Shop.

“As far as I remember, (Gourmet Lane) was one of the first food courts that was opened anywhere in the country,” Bill said.

Although Stop-N-Shop stores once held a very high position in the world of Sacramento grocery stores, their heyday gradually ended as the stores were individually sold at separate times due to competition from other grocery stores and financial struggles related to other Kassis family business ventures.

Despite the absence of any Stop-N-Shop stores in Sacramento by 1975, the fond memories of Stop-N-Shop markets continue to live on today in the minds of the Kassis family and their stores’ many former customers.

lance@valcomnews.com

The Raley’s supermarkets chain is celebrating a very special anniversary, as this year marks 75 years since the chain’s first store opened.

Since its founder Tom Raley opened this first location on Main Street in Placerville on Feb. 16, 1935, Raley’s has grown extensively and is a rich part of Sacramento area communities.

Recognized as the state’s 11th largest private company by Forbes magazine, Raley’s owns and operates 133 stores: 85 Raley’s, 21 Bel Air Markets, 22 Nob Hill Foods supermarkets and five Food Source stores.

These stores include Raley’s stores at 4850 Freeport Blvd. in Sacramento and 5159 Fair Oaks Blvd. and 4005 Manzanita Ave. in Carmichael, and Bel Air stores at 7465 Rush River Drive and 1301 Florin Road in Sacramento.

 

 

First link in the chain

The road to Raley’s establishment is one with long roots beginning in Lead Hill (Boone County) Arkansas – Tom Raley’s birthplace.

Raised in a family of seven boys and seven girls, Tom Raley was taught to have good virtues, as the son of a Baptist minister and farmer, named Reglus Raley.

Following his high school years, Tom Raley earned a business degree from a business college in Missouri before moving to Los Angeles, where he worked for an ice and cold storage firm.

Eventually working for a Safeway grocery store in Los Angeles before transferring to a San Francisco store, Tom Raley was later offered, but declined an opportunity to serve as the district manager of San Francisco Safeway stores.

In 1934, despite being a Depression year, Tom Raley opted to instead establish his own grocery store.

In a 1972 interview with The Sacramento Bee, Tom Raley described the challenges he faced in opening his first store, which had a price tag of $9,000.

“I wanted to build a store in Placerville and I had only $120,” Tom Raley told The Bee. “I needed credit, so I listed the chairman of the board of Safeway as a reference. Suddenly everybody was willing to help me.”

Opening his Placerville store with only two assistants – a clerk and a butcher – Tom Raley experienced much success with his store, which led to his additional success in Sacramento.

His good fortunes with the Placerville store ended when it was destroyed by fire in 1942.

Less than a decade after opening his first Sacramento store, Tom Raley was at the helm of a chain of eight stores, including a store at 1700 Capitol Ave., where Compton’s and Rick’s Uptown markets were later located.

And this was definitely only the beginning of Raley’s growth, as the chain continued to expand throughout the years, making possible Tom Raley’s goal of establishing 50 stores by Raley’s 50th anniversary in 1985.

 

Starting the superstores

The aforementioned Freeport Boulevard store was established in 1958, which was the very year that Raley’s made history by opening the nation’s first grocery store-drug store combination, which was known as a superstore.

Raley’s was obviously proud of its superstores, as is indicative of an advertisement, which appeared in the Dec. 7, 1977 edition of The Sacramento Union.

“If there’s no Raley’s Superstore near you…move,” the advertisement read.

The advertisement also invited The Union’s readers to the day’s opening of the 5159 Fair Oaks Blvd., at Walnut Avenue, location in Carmichael.

The Fair Oaks Boulevard store became Raley’s 10th superstore.

Raley’s also once had a presence in East Sacramento with its former store at 2815 L St., near Sutter’s Fort.

Although it never materialized, during the late 1980s, plans were made for a 99,000-square-foot shopping center, which was to be known as Pocket Landing and anchored by a 61,000-square-foot Raley’s Supercenter at the northeast corner of Pocket Road and Greenhaven Drive.

 

Raley’s acquired Bel Air

In 1992, Raley’s acquired Bel Air Markets from the Wong family and like Raley’s, Bel Air also has a very rich history, which has left a positive impression on many people throughout the region.

The roots of the store began in the 1930s, when Chinese immigrant Gim Wong, who came to America in 1916 and eventually helped found his family’s supermarket, Bel Air, began selling produce that he grew on his 5-acre farm in Penryn, about 30 miles east of Sacramento. Assisting him with his business was his wife, Lee Shee and their children.

After establishing his produce-selling business on his farm, he eventually opened his own store in Penryn. And moving to Sacramento in the late 1940s, he opened a grocery store at 28th and P streets.

The Wong family’s establishment of their first Bel Air Market at 6231 Fruitridge Road was, according to the business’s corporate history, “still a novel concept at that time.”

The same can also be said of Raley’s during its early years as a supermarket.

Even by the early 1960s, the concept of the supermarket remained somewhat in its infancy.

In 1961, for instance, The Bee published an article that in today’s world can be considered amusing to reflect upon.

The article explains that the Department of Agriculture created a pamphlet covering the topic of “why the American housewife’s supermarket bill seems so high.”

The pamphlet responds to this inquiry, noting that “she buys better food, spends less time in the kitchen and buys cigarettes, (lipstick, toilet articles), face lotion and even clothes” at the supermarket.

Committed to its mission of offering superior products and top-notched customer service, Bel Air capitalized on its success and had expanded to a chain of six stores within its first decade.

Today, the now-much larger Bel Air chain, which was formerly led for 40 years by its president, George Wong, has stores as far east as Cameron Park and as far north as Yuba City.

Among these stores, the Arden Way store opened on Aug. 14, 1958, the Florin Road store opened on Aug. 8, 1966 and the Rush River Drive store opened on Nov. 16, 1988.

 

The local store

Other highlights in Raley’s history include the opening of its first Food Source warehouse format store in Folsom in 1994 and its purchase of the Nob Hill Foods chain in 1998.

Tom Raley passed away at the age of 88 on Dec. 27, 1991 and the company is now owned by his daughter, Joyce Raley Teel, who also serves as a co-chair of the Raley’s board of directors. Her husband, James E. Teel, is the other co-chair.

Tom Raley’s only grandson, Michael J. Teel, serves as Raley’s president and CEO, while each of his four sisters, Claudia Doerhoff, Diane Perry, Laurie Struck and Lisa Davidson, serve on the board of directors.

Today, Raley’s, which has its headquarters in West Sacramento and about 13,500 employees, continues to add to its legacy.

Raley’s spokeswoman Amy Davis said that Raley’s is proud of its 75-year commitment to providing quality products and services for its customers.

“We are thrilled to celebrate Raley’s 75th anniversary with the community,” Davis said. “It’s been an honor to serve the greater Sacramento area since 1935. Although our offerings and services have evolved over the years to meet the needs of today’s consumers – including a recipe database on raleys.com, accounts on Twitter and an iPhone app for customers on-the-go – the foundation of customer service built by our founder, Tom Raley, remains constant as we welcome a new generation of customers through our store doors. As a regional, family-operated company, we look forward to serving you and your families for many years to come.”

 

E-mail Lance Armstrong at lance@valcomnews.com.