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In 1970 local
real estate maverick Richard Alderson owned a gas station at the corner of
Bay and Mission Streets (where Cafe Lola is today) called "University Oil".
This was the first self-serve station in the city and was popular with UCSC
students. In 1971 Kim Tolleson finished his term in the military service and
he was renting an apartment from Richard, who proposed that Kim open a small
produce market in front of Richard's filling station where there was an
unused bay. Much of Kim's produce came from the gardens up at UCSC, and the
business was somewhat like the open-air market currently at the entrance to
the University. Richard and Kim became partners in the venture using seed
capital of $25 to purchase a refrigerated case for display of their produce.
Don Newey sold them organic oranges and Kim began the business by giving
away a free organic orange to each customer who bought gasoline at Richard's
station. Kim posted a large signboard for potential customers to offer
suggestions for what they would like to see at the outdoor corner market. As
he bought different items, they were offered in bulk in large cardboard
bins, and the operation was immediately and organically named the "Food
Bin". At this time there were no other natural foods stores in the city, just a co-op across the street from Palace Art downtown. The Staff of Life was still just a bakery and R-Neighborhood Coop (later transformed by Scott Roseman into the New Leaf chain) had not yet opened. Thus, Kim found that his corner market was immediately besieged by customers. The Food Bin took off as gasoline wars battered the existing station, leading Richard to close the gas part of the operation so as to concentrate on the Food Bin. Quickly, the Food Bin became a student/hippie hangout, on the corner of the main arteries up to the University.
Kim went to
Hawaii and his sister and brother-in-law took over for him for awhile. But
when Kim came back, he, his wife Prudence and Richard moved the Food Bin to
another corner Richard owned on the westside, the corner at Mission and
Laurel.
This
was in
When the Food
Bin was moved to Mission and Laurel, the old gas station was converted for
retail use, the marquee was installed on the corner and
the garden was planted and opened up to customers. The marquee
(later moved slightly during the Mission Street widening in the 'nineties)
has become a fixture on Mission Street. The marquee has
been used for more than just standard
Shortly after
moving to Mission and Laurel, an herb department was set up in the current
produce room. This herb department was called the "Herb Room" because it was
housed in a room on the side of the Food Bin building. Thus, both the Food
Bin (food in large round bins) and the Herb Room (herbs in a room) were
named in a naive and literal way. The building currently housing the Herb
Room was occupied by a different business, Sun Garden Produce. In 1977 Kim sold his interest to George Protsman and later opened the collectibles store Modern Life on the Pacific Avenue Mall. After the earthquake in 1989 Kim moved this business to its current location on 41st Avenue. In 1979 Sun Garden moved across the street, later went out of business and was eventually replaced by Emily's Bakery. When Sun Garden moved across the street, George had the good idea of moving the herbs into the empty building across the parking lot and expanding into vitamins and cosmetics.
George Protsman hired a manager named John for
the Food Bin. George owned Poor Richard's Almanac on Front Street and John
later moved there to manage that store for him. John is now general manager
of Palace
When Mark and
Breton bought the business in 1983, Amy Pearson was the General Manager. Amy's
husband, Matt later worked in the store, as did others such as Moira Davidson
and Mark Riley (who both later left to found Aptos Natural Foods with Bryan From 1983 to 1993 Mark and Breton divided their work such that Breton was in charge of the Food Bin (and the marquee!) and Mark was in charge of the Herb Room. In 1993 Breton became a silent partner in the business and Mark took over as managing partner. In 2003 these roles reversed and Breton became managing partner when Mark, who had become a certified acupuncturist and author of a popular book on Chinese Patent Medicines, decided to become a silent partner. In February 2005 Breton bought Mark's interest in the business and Mark opened his acupuncture practice in Soquel. Shortly after this, Gene Dickinson purchased an interest in the business and continues today as the co-owner/general manager. A small seed that was planted by Richard Alderson and Kim Tolleson in the early 'seventies, the Food Bin/Herb Room is one of the last original natural foods stores on California Highway One and is a Santa Cruz tradition. It has remained true to its roots and counter-culture values thanks to a strong base of support from the Santa Cruz community. Perhaps only in Santa Cruz could a store like the Food Bin/Herb Room survive and thrive for nearly 35 years! |
commercial messages
during the years, and Kim set the tone right from the start with his first
message: "We have the best damn oranges in the world!". The marquee has long
been a lightening rod for Santa Cruz creativity and off-beat messages.
Smith), Amy Ellenberg, Chris Creighton (produce manager), Toddy Merrill (who
later managed the Herb Room) and Jennifer Squire (who also managed the Herb
Room). After Amy Pearson left, Gene Dickinson ("Dario") moved up through the
ranks and became the General Manager in 1990; Linda Black is Assistant Manager
of the business. Shoshanah (Susan) Benjamin worked her way up to manager of the
Herb Room and left the employ of the business this year after over ten years.
The employee who has been with the business longest is Barbara Jirsa, who has
worked for the store for over 20 years, at one point as general manager, and is
the bookkeeper now.